Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung (left) and New Wave presidential candidate Kim Dong-yeon meet at a cafe in Mapo, Seoul on the followingnoon of the 1st. [사진=연합뉴스]
Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung and New Wave candidate Kim Dong-yeon met in a sudden meeting on the 1st and declared ‘candidate unification’ with Lee Jae-myung.
This is the first case in response to Candidate Lee’s ‘establishment of a unified government and multi-party political structure’, and whether it will lead to the joining of Candidate Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party and former Chairman Kim Jong-in of the People’s Power General Election Committee and ‘establishing an encirclement network for the People’s Power Candidate Yoon Seok-yeol’ interest is gathered
Candidate Lee and Candidate Kim met at a location in Mapo-gu, Seoul on the followingnoon of the same day to discuss political reform with the unified government, and announced a ‘joint declaration for political change’.
The two candidates said, “The first step in overcoming the overall crisis that Korea faces is ‘political change’. We are pushing ahead with reform and political reform,” he said.
At the same time, △ drafting the ‘Seventh Republic Constitution Amendment Bill’ within one year of the inauguration of the government (decentralized presidential system, responsible prime minister, and substantive separation of powers) △ Submitting a political reform bill to the National Assembly before taking office (reform the electoral system such as interlocking proportional representation system, abolition of immunity from parliamentary members) , the introduction of the national recall system, prohibition of consecutive terms exceeding 3 terms of the National Assembly)
They also agreed to establish an independent National Housing Policy Committee and National Education Committee, establish a ‘Common Commitment Promotion Committee’ under the Presidential Transition Committee, and form an integrated national government as a partner for state management.
Earlier, on the 14th of last month, candidate Lee held a press conference for the “Declaration of Overcoming Crisis and National Unity” in Myeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, promising to reform the electoral system, a unified national cabinet, and amendment of the constitution to a four-year term system. The National Integration Promotion Committee also proposed to realize a unified national government.
On the 24th of last month, Song Young-gil, the leader of the Democratic Party, also introduced the constitutional amendment to the four-year presidential term and runoff voting system, the Prime Minister’s National Assembly recommendation system, the major constituency system with three or more local members, the interlocking proportional representation system to prevent satellite parties, and the proportional representation system for each region. It announced a political reform plan, which was officially ratified by the party’s general assembly on the 27th.
Candidate Ahn Cheol-soo also hinted at the possibility of meeting with Lee. Candidate Ahn met with reporters following attending a ceremony to commemorate the 103rd anniversary of the March 1st Independence Movement held at the Provisional Government Memorial Hall in the morning of the same day and said, “I am willing to meet any politician if politicians want to discuss important agendas among themselves.” This is interpreted to mean that he will actively respond to Candidate Yoon’s ‘unification of opposition candidates’ as well as Lee’s discussion of ‘unified government’.
On the other hand, at a rally in Seoul on the same day, Candidate Yoon was wary of the Democratic Party’s move, saying, “Is it reasonable to say that ten days before the election?” He insisted, “Never be fooled. Regime change is political reform.”
- reporter information
- Seonghwi Lee
- [email protected]
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