Independent presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo announced on Sunday that he will reduce the powers of the president, and focus his policies on establishing a fairer and more sustainable society.

In revealing a more detailed policy picture, Ahn stressed his intentions to disperse the authority of the president and to conduct a far-reaching reform that will encompass the country’s political and economic systems, as well as its education, welfare and diplomatic policies.

As part of his plans for increasing transparency and fairness in society, Ahn said that he will establish an organization independent of the president that will investigate public-sector corruption and reform the public prosecution.

He also said that the National Assembly will be given the right to nominate the chief of the Board of Audit and Inspection.

Ahn also stressed the need for change in the country’s political system, and in the dynamic between the president, National Assembly and the public.

“I, Ahn Cheol-soo, am the only one who can achieve both regime change and political reform,” Ahn said, adding that he will change the country’s political system that fails to reflect the will of the people. 

“The people are at the highest position. Then there is the National Assembly. The president and the government should be in the lowest place.”

Comparing Korea to the Apollo 13 manned space mission that experienced severe difficulties, Ahn said that he will bring the country back into orbit by working with the public and experts to solve various problems, adding “the era when a president led the country alone is over.”

Ahn’s emphasis on reform was accentuated by former Saenuri Party lawmaker Kim Sung-sik’s joining of his campaign on Sunday. The one-term lawmaker left the ruling party at the end of last year after his calls to implement a complete overhaul of the Grand National Party were not reflected in the process of founding the new Saenuri Party.

In relation to the measures regarding the president’s authority, Ahn said that if elected, he will exercise the president’s power to issue pardons after obtaining the National Assembly’s approval, and that projects for supporting the middle class and the general public will be given priority in government spending.

He also said that he will drastically reduce the president’s influence in appointing officials to high-level positions, while highlighting his relative lack of political connections as an advantage in conducting a system-wide reform.

“Old politics are entangled in a complicated net of interests. I have no debts, therefore I have nothing I need to repay. So I can go forward with only the people in mind,” he said.

Citing the custom of granting positions in state-run companies to those who have aided a president’s election campaign, Ahn said that he will reduce the number of such positions to one-tenth of previous administrations.

Regarding the possibility of merging with the opposition party candidate, Ahn said that the issue will only be decided only when there is “public agreement and understanding that it is true reform.”

On the subject of the details of his plans for inter-Korean relations and related economic issues, Ahn did not elaborate, saying only that unification of the peninsula could prove beneficial in securing labor force and natural resources, and that South Korea could play a central role in Northeast Asia if the country acts as a hub linking the continent to the Pacific.

Saying that North Korea should scrap its nuclear weapons program, Ahn said Pyongyang should seek inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation, as well as normalization of relations with the U.S. and other nations.

By Choi He-suk  (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)