The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    IU says she was excited to share screen with Park Seo-joon in 'Dream'

  • 3

    BLACKPINK, TXT, Stray Kids: K-pop stars headline international music festivals

  • 5

    INTERVIEWForeign-born entertainers seek to revolutionize local industry

  • 7

    College students turn to 1,000 won breakfast to beat inflation

  • 9

    Korean aesthetics, spirit live on at Gyeongbok Palace

  • 11

    Chun Woo-won apologizes to Gwangju victims, calls grandfather 'criminal'

  • 13

    Koreans warned against making inappropriate videos in Thailand

  • 15

    BTS Jimin breaks record for K-pop soloist with 'Face'

  • 17

    South Korea nominates new ambassador to US

  • 19

    SM Entertainment founder looks to future as company appoints new management

  • 2

    Children, pregnant women executed, tortured in North Korea: report

  • 4

    Korea to scrap customs form for travelers without dutiable goods

  • 6

    NewJeans, Apple join hands to bring immersive audio experience

  • 8

    Rare Joseon-era map returns home from Japan

  • 10

    Seventeen to drop new EP next month

  • 12

    Celebrity chef Paik Jong-won takes his business skills to next level with 'The Genius Paik'

  • 14

    Carmakers unveil latest models at Seoul Mobility Show

  • 16

    'Me': BLACKPINK's Jisoo off to smooth start as solo artist

  • 18

    Japanese top visitors to Korea in 2023 as tourism rebounds

  • 20

    Gwangju's popular Alleyway restaurant resurrects

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
Sat, April 1, 2023 | 19:52
-------------------------
People's Party stance on NK confusing
안철수 "급격한 통일은 대박 아닌 재앙…실용적 접근 필요"
Posted : 2016-02-18 15:57
Updated : 2016-02-18 21:59
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
By Kim Hyo-jin


Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, co-chairman of the People's Party delivers a speech at the National Assembly, Thursday./ Yonhap
Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, co-chairman of the People's Party delivers a speech at the National Assembly, Thursday.
/ Yonhap
The minor opposition People's Party led by Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo is suffering from an identity problem concerning its stance on North Korea.

While the conservatives and liberals are divided over the government's hard-line approach, the People's Party, which presented itself as "centrist" appears to be divided regarding the reclusive country.

The party unreservedly attacked the government for shuttering the Gaeseong Industrial Complex (GIC), a symbol of the "sunshine policy" of reconciliation pushed by liberal governments from 1998 to 2008. This drew much attention as the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) responded cautiously amid deepening public security unease.

But, Lee Sang-don, a former ruling camp figure who was recruited Wednesday as the co-leader of the People's Party election campaign committee, expressed a differing view, saying the sunshine policy was a failure. "We need to overhaul our North Korea policy from ground zero," Lee said during a press conference.

Amid rising questions over the party's identity, Co-Chairman Rep. Ahn tried to lay out its official stance on North Korea, putting stress on both security and engagement with the isolated country.

"We have to seek dialogue with the North in parallel with building a strong security base," Ahn said in a speech during the National Assembly plenary session, Thursday.

Calling it "pragmatism," Ahn urged the pursuit of peaceful and gradual unification while increasing the country's military capacity.

He backed the idea of bolstering independent defense systems, while calling for further public discussion on the deployment of a terminal high altitude area defense battery here. He also claimed that the GIC should be reopen, raising questions again over money being funneled through its workers to the regime's leadership.

This was seen as an attempt to portray the party's North Korea policy as balanced, but observers assessed it negatively, saying it added more ambiguity.

"The views are contradictory as if he described a boiling ice cream," said Hwang Tae-soon, a political analyst at the Wisdom Center. "They will drive centrist voters the party wants to attract further away to the left and right."

The People's Party was launched early February to differentiate itself from the existing opposition. Ahn, who left the MPK, vowed to make a centrist third party, saying it would pursue a leftist stance in economic issues and a rightist stance on security.

"While trying to woo voters in the Jeolla Provinces and to recruit Chung Dong-young, former unification minister under the Kim Dae-jung administration, Ahn could not criticize the sunshine policy," said Choi Chang-ryol, a professor at Yongin University.

"The leadership has to consider the voters' sentiment in those provinces, the traditional supporters of Kim's legacy."

The party has 17 incumbent lawmakers, most of whose constituencies are based in the region. In the polls slated for April 13, the People's Party is expected to vie for votes in Gwangju and the Jeolla Provinces, the home turf of the MPK.



안철수 "급격한 통일은 대박 아닌 재앙…실용적 접근 필요"

'남북관계서 여야 이념대결만 골몰'…통일대박·北궤멸론 비판
'사드 배치, 찬반 이분법으로 해결안돼…독자방어체계 함께 논의해야'
'개성공단 가동중단은 국익에 도움안돼'

국민의당 안철수 상임공동대표는 18일 '급격한 변화와 통일은 대박이 아니라 오히려 재앙이 될 수 있다는 것을 국민들은 이미 알고 있다. 이념적인 접근이 아닌 실용적 접근이 필요하다'고 밝혔다.

안 대표는 이날 국회 본회의 비교섭단체 대표발언에서 '박근혜 대통령도, 여당도, 야당 일각에서조차 북한 체제의 붕괴나 궤멸을 이야기한다'며 '이런 주장은 안보불안을 해소하는데도, 한반도의 평화와 안정에도, 통일로 가는 길에도 전혀 도움이 되지 않는다'고 말했다.

보수 진영 일부의 북한 붕괴론 내지 흡수통일론은 물론 더불어민주당 김종인 비상대책위 대표가 언급한 북한 궤멸론을 싸잡아 비판한 것으로 해석된다.

그는 '진보적인 정부와 보수적인 정부가 추진했던 성과를 계승하고 한발 더 나아가기 위한 노력이 필요하다'며 '남북관계에서도 여야는 이념적 대결에만 골몰하고 있다. 그렇게 해서는 어떤 해법도 나올 수 없다'고 비판했다.

'핵무기로는 북한의 미래가 보장될 수 없음을 분명히 깨닫게 해줘야 한다'며 '항구적 평화와 안정을 보장하기 위해서는 안보를 튼튼히 하면서도 대화를 병행해야 한다'고 점진적 통일론을 제시했다.

그는 우리 군의 독자적인 전략무기방어체계 구축 필요성을 거론한 뒤 '예산을 추가 편성해서라도 구축시기를 한시라도 앞당겨야 한다'고 말했다.

사드(고고도미사일방어체계.THAAD) 배치 문제에 대해 '찬성-반대로 편을 가르는 이분법으로는 해결할 수 없다'며 '공론화를 통해 국민 공감대를 얻어야 하며, 독자방어체계 구축이라는 대안과 함께 논의돼야 한다'고 공론화 필요성을 강조했다.

당초 초안에는 '일방적으로 밀어붙이려는 정부의 태도에는 찬성할 수 없다'는 문구가 있었지만 최종본에서는 빠졌다.

여당 일각에서 제기된 핵보유론에 대해 '동북아에 핵 도미노를 일으키고, 당장 일본의 핵무장 길을 터주는 결과를 가져올 것'이라며 단호한 반대 입장을 피력했다.

이어 '참 대책없는 주장', '무책임한 정치', '이념과잉의 정치'라고 비판한 뒤 '딱한 것은 보수를 표방하는 일부 세력들이 정치적 유불리만 따지면서 시장을 혼란키는 언행을 서슴치 않는다는 것이다. 그래서 국민들이 수준 낮은 보수, 가짜 보수를 한심하다고 여기고 새로운 대안을 찾고 있는 것'이라고 몰아붙였다.

그는 개성공단 가동중단 조치에 대해 '전략적으로도 국익에도 도움이 되지 않는 선택'이라며 북한 핵과 미사일 개발 저지 효과가 의문이고 경제적 손실만 초래하는 결과가 우려된다고 밝혔다.

'갑작스러운 조치 이후 통일부 장관과 대통령이 어떤 근거도 제시하지 못하면서 개성공단이 문제의 근원이었던 것처럼 몰아가는 것은 참으로 무책임하다'며 '국익과 국민의 관점에서 개성공단 문제를 다시 생각해야 한다'고 호소했다. (연합뉴스)
Emailhyojinkim@ktimes.com Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
Top 10 Stories
1Chun Woo-won apologizes to Gwangju victims, calls grandfather 'criminal' Chun Woo-won apologizes to Gwangju victims, calls grandfather 'criminal'
2Koreans warned against making inappropriate videos in Thailand Koreans warned against making inappropriate videos in Thailand
3Gwangju's popular Alleyway restaurant resurrectsGwangju's popular Alleyway restaurant resurrects
4Ambassador offers taste of Ghana to Korea Ambassador offers taste of Ghana to Korea
5[INTERVIEW] North Korean defectors bear brunt of remittance scams INTERVIEWNorth Korean defectors bear brunt of remittance scams
6Korea ready to greet BIE inspection team Korea ready to greet BIE inspection team
7Gimpo airport to launch care service for dogs Gimpo airport to launch care service for dogs
8Yoon gov't disputes Japanese media's claims about summit Yoon gov't disputes Japanese media's claims about summit
9Regulators urge financial groups to minimize interest rate hikes Regulators urge financial groups to minimize interest rate hikes
10Mirae Asset, SK Telecom team up for security token businessMirae Asset, SK Telecom team up for security token business
Top 5 Entertainment News
1IU says she was excited to share screen with Park Seo-joon in 'Dream' IU says she was excited to share screen with Park Seo-joon in 'Dream'
2BLACKPINK, TXT, Stray Kids: K-pop stars headline international music festivalsBLACKPINK, TXT, Stray Kids: K-pop stars headline international music festivals
3[INTERVIEW] Foreign-born entertainers seek to revolutionize local industry INTERVIEWForeign-born entertainers seek to revolutionize local industry
4NewJeans, Apple join hands to bring immersive audio experience NewJeans, Apple join hands to bring immersive audio experience
5Celebrity chef Paik Jong-won takes his business skills to next level with 'The Genius Paik' Celebrity chef Paik Jong-won takes his business skills to next level with 'The Genius Paik'
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group