Jun Ji-hye, a reporter at the finance desk of The Korea Times, focuses primarily on economic policy and government agencies, mainly covering the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Budget and Planning, the National Tax Service and the Korea Customs Service. She previously covered financial authorities, including the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, and earlier worked on the political, city and business desks, reporting on a wide range of issues.
Ahn takes jab at President
Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo answers reporters’ questions after a press conference at the National Assembly, Sunday. The independent lawmaker criticized President Park Geun-hye and the ruling Saenuri Party for not fulfilling their election pledge to ban political parties from nominating the candidates for local elections. / Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
By Jun Ji-hye
Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo criticized President Park Geun-hye, Sunday for retreating on her campaign promise to abolish the practice of political party’s designating candidates for city councils.
It was the first salvo fired by Ahn since he recently began to create a party apparatus in preparation for the June 4 local elections.
His call invited a rebuke from the ruling Saenuri Party but a positive response from the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), currently hit by voter apathy.
Ahn also demanded the breakup of a special parliamentary committee for political reform comprised of Saenuri and DP members.
“The ruling party should stop attempting to break its election pledge to scrap the party nomination system. Such a move is just damaging the nation’s political culture,” a grim-looking Ahn, a former computer software businessman, told a news conference.
“President Park should tell the public whether or not her principle of “trust politics” is in line with the ruling party’s move to break its promise with the public,” he said.
In the lead-up to the Dec. 19, 2012 presidential election, then Saenuri Party candidate Park, the DP’s Moon Jae-in and independent Ahn promised to abolish the top-down nomination system as a means to reform local elections.
The nomination system has been blamed for causing political corruption as those who want to secure a party ticket for local elections have not hesitated to offer bribes to those in its headquarters.
Members of the governing camp have recently agreed in principle to maintain the party nomination system, claiming that the proposal to abolish it has some unconstitutional factors, and could cause unexpected side effects.
As alternatives, the party suggested introducing an open primary system that allows general voters, as well as the party members, to participate in primaries to select a final candidate. The DP is siding with Ahn to pressure the ruling party to agree to abolish the current system. The largest opposition party additionally suggested lowering the voting age to 18 from the current 19, and extending the voting time by two hours.
Ahn argued the ruling party is attempting to break the promise made to the public to seek political profit.
“Placing more weight on the pursuit of its own interests has resulted in vestiges of the past authoritarian rule in which politicians saw the people as an object of domination,” said the first-term lawmaker, calling for the disbanding of the special committee where “lawmakers are only speaking for their own profit, not for that of the public.”
He said that such old-fashioned behavior was hardening his desire to push for new politics.
The software mogul-turned-politician added that he may consider joining forces with the DP to accomplish the abolition of the nomination system.
In response, Saenuri Party spokesman Rep. Yoo Il-ho said that Ahn was distorting the real intention of the governing party.
“The ruling party is sparing no efforts to minimize any side effects that could emerge from a revision of the local election rules,” said Yoo. “The bigger problem will show up if parties keep pushing for the election pledge as it appears quite obvious that such a measure will produce some side effects.”