Ahn Cheol-soo (right), a representative of the National Assembly Party and former Democratic Party lawmaker Geum Tae-seop, meet and shake hands at the Yeouido National Assembly Hall on the 4th to negotiate a method of unifying the’third zone’. Reporter Oh Dae-geun
Negotiations for the unification of candidates for the Seoul Mayor by-election by Ahn Chul-soo and former Democratic Party lawmaker Geum Tae-seop took a turn. At their first meeting on the 4th, the two declared,’We will start unification negotiations in the third zone, not in the power of the people.’ They also agreed on the principle of unifying the 4·7 by-election until early March, about a month ahead. Aiming at the public sentiment of the holiday, the two decided to discuss a plan for a TV debate before the Lunar New Year holidays.
Representative Ahn and Rep. Geum met at the Assembly Hall of the National Assembly and decided to start working-level negotiations before this weekend. The two met separately six years after the’political breakup’ in 2014. However, the two broke up after 30 minutes on this day. Representative Ahn met with reporters and said about the timing of the unification goal, “a little earlier than the election of a candidate for national strength (March 4), and it will be around the end of February to the beginning of March.”
On September 23, 2012, then Ahn Chul-soo (right), then an independent presidential candidate, moves to participate in the policy network’Tomorrow’ forum at Changbi, a humanities cafe in Seogyo-dong, Seoul. Attorney Tae-seop Geum is on the left. Hankook Ilbo data photo
Rep. Geum started politics with Representative Ahn nine years ago. At the time of President Ahn’s first challenge for president in 2012, former Congressman Geum was the head of the presidential camp situation. At that time, it was Congressman Geum Jae-in who sat at the table for unification of candidates with Democratic Party candidate Moon Jae-in.
Representative Ahn and former Congressman Geum did not accompany him long. In 2014, when Ahn joined the Democratic Party to form a new political and democratic coalition, former Congressman Ahn was an aide. In the July parliamentary election in July of the same year, Rep. Geum tried to run for Dongjak in the district of Seoul, but Ahn, who was co-representative of the New Political Democratic Union at the time, did not help him.
The optimistic Congressman Geum Jeon left the role of spokesperson and left, and the two turned their backs. In the following year’s book’I want to have a winning opposition,’ the former lawmaker attacked Ahn, saying, “We lacked communication” and “resigning from the presidential election was the worst number.” In a media interview, Geum Jeon said, “It’s a pity that Ahn always seems to have a politics that goes back to the origin.”
During the 2012 presidential election, the negotiating representatives of the Democratic Unification Party presidential candidate Moon Jae-in and the independent candidate Ahn Chul-soo met at Ryu Ga-heon, a gallery in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of November 13, 2012. Hankook Ilbo data photo
It is unclear whether the feelings of Representative Ahn and former Congressman Geum were resolved. The two promised unification because of the’need’ to grow in size in the third zone, but there is a considerable prospect that detailed negotiations will not be smooth. Rep. Geum emphasized that “It’s time to change into a new person. I’m the most scalable candidate” in a presentation of “To a Better World” (Mapo Forum) led by former Congressman Kim Moo-sung.
Park Jinman reporter [email protected]
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