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Former presidential contender Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo will back his own candidates in October’s by-elections.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Ahn indicated that he would form his own power base before the elections.
“In the end it is a matter of people. The form (which the organization takes) comes later. (I) must look for people,” Ahn said, saying that he would become involved in the October by-elections if he managed to gather the right people.
Ahn added that he was looking for individuals who wanted to play a role in bringing about “a general structural reform in Korea.”
“It will not do if just those who failed to gain nominations from the two sides (Saenuri Party and the Democratic Party) gather. The priority is for people who have critical minds to come together even if the numbers are small.”
Since his return to politics in March, when he announced that he would run in Seoul’s Nowon-C constituency, it has been speculated that Ahn will have to either join the main opposition Democratic Party or form his own party in order to further his political career.
In the April 24 by-elections, Ahn took the constituency in a landslide victory with more than 60 percent of the vote.
Regarding the issue of clashing with the Democratic Party in gathering people to run in the by-elections, Ahn said that the public would benefit if the two sides had competing visions.
Dubbed the “mini general elections,” due to the large number of parliamentary seats that will be contested and due to implications the results will have on the composition of the National Assembly, the October by-elections are expected to have implications that will last throughout the 19th National Assembly.
In the upcoming by-elections, as many as 15 parliamentary seats could be at stake, of which 10 are currently held by Saenuri Party lawmakers.
Of the 10, eight are on trial or awaiting results of appeals on charges of Public Official Election Act violations committed by them or their aides, while two ― Reps. Chung Doo-un and Yoon Jin-sik ― have been implicated in the saving banks scandal.
The ruling party will lose its majority in parliament if it loses more than four seats.
By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Ahn indicated that he would form his own power base before the elections.
“In the end it is a matter of people. The form (which the organization takes) comes later. (I) must look for people,” Ahn said, saying that he would become involved in the October by-elections if he managed to gather the right people.
Ahn added that he was looking for individuals who wanted to play a role in bringing about “a general structural reform in Korea.”
“It will not do if just those who failed to gain nominations from the two sides (Saenuri Party and the Democratic Party) gather. The priority is for people who have critical minds to come together even if the numbers are small.”
Since his return to politics in March, when he announced that he would run in Seoul’s Nowon-C constituency, it has been speculated that Ahn will have to either join the main opposition Democratic Party or form his own party in order to further his political career.
In the April 24 by-elections, Ahn took the constituency in a landslide victory with more than 60 percent of the vote.
Regarding the issue of clashing with the Democratic Party in gathering people to run in the by-elections, Ahn said that the public would benefit if the two sides had competing visions.
Dubbed the “mini general elections,” due to the large number of parliamentary seats that will be contested and due to implications the results will have on the composition of the National Assembly, the October by-elections are expected to have implications that will last throughout the 19th National Assembly.
In the upcoming by-elections, as many as 15 parliamentary seats could be at stake, of which 10 are currently held by Saenuri Party lawmakers.
Of the 10, eight are on trial or awaiting results of appeals on charges of Public Official Election Act violations committed by them or their aides, while two ― Reps. Chung Doo-un and Yoon Jin-sik ― have been implicated in the saving banks scandal.
The ruling party will lose its majority in parliament if it loses more than four seats.
By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)
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Articles by Korea Herald
