By Kim Hyo-jin
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.
.jpg/dims/resize/740/optimize) |
| Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, co-chairman of the People's Party delivers a speech at the National Assembly, Thursday. / Yonhap |
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.
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