In an interview with the Hankook Ilbo held at the Kookmin Party in Yeouido, Seoul on the 2nd, CEO Ahn Chul-soo said, “I will take the lead even if I lose in the unification race with the people’s strength.” An actor
National Assembly Representative Ahn Chul-soo is taking his breath on the ring. It is ahead of the title match to select a single candidate for the conservative opposition for the 4·7 mayoral by-election. Opponent is the People’s Power candidate who will be elected on the 4th.
In various opinion polls, Ahn is leading the opposition candidates, but the one-on-one confrontation with the power of the people, the first opposition party, is not easy. The conservative camp is worried about the possibility that the confrontation itself will collapse or the loser will become a’three-way structure’ in which one candidate from the ruling party and two candidates from the opposition party face off against the match result.
Representative Ahn, who met at the company in Yeouido, Seoul on the 2nd, said, “Even if I lose in a single match, I will play in front for a single candidate.” “To make it an election that the opposition will win,” and “I want the power of the people to do so (for me).” I repeatedly confirmed that “I will not challenge” next year’s presidential election.
In an interview with the Hankook Ilbo held at the company in Yeouido, Seoul on the 2nd, Ahn Chul-soo, the head of the National Assembly Party, introduces his ideas as a candidate for the mayor of Seoul and makes various expressions. An actor
-Disagreements are already expressed over the question of unified opinion polls. Can I find a contact point?
“It doesn’t seem to be difficult. Shouldn’t the opposition champion choose a candidate with low competitiveness and not lose? The unification of opposition candidates is trying to beat the Democratic Party candidate in the Seoul Mayor’s election. It is common sense and natural to ask’who can win?’ in a poll questionnaire that determines a single candidate. Opposition supporters are demanding that the unification must take place before the registration date of the Mayor of Seoul (19th of this month).”
-The people’s strength says that if Representative Ahn becomes a single candidate, he will run as’No. 2′(the national strength election symbol).
“When a single candidate is elected through fair and fierce competition, it fits the purpose of unification to hold the election respecting the will of that candidate. It doesn’t matter how many times you go to what party you belong to. The name of the single opposition candidate is written on the second column of the ballot. ‘The second khan candidate’ is the opposition candidate, what is the difference in preferences?”
-Are you saying you have no intention of accepting number two?
“I haven’t talked about the power of the people yet.”
-If you lose in a single match, is there a possibility to run until the end?
“I have said many times that even if I lose, I will run for the election of a single opposition candidate. I hope that the people’s strength also thinks the same way.”
-How do you evaluate candidate Park Young-sun and Democratic Party candidate, who is the opponent of the finals?
“Before speaking of his evaluation, I would like to start with the question of why the Seoul Mayor was elected by-election. Is it because of the sexual harassment of the former mayor of the Democratic Party (Former Mayor Park Won-soon)? The reason for the citizens is that the candidate of the Democratic Party reveals his position on this point first. Only then can we talk about Candidate Park?”
-What kind of mayor do the citizens of Seoul need now?
“It is a moral and capable marketplace. It is a market that properly quarantines the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) and takes proper measures against the public welfare problem and the skyrocketing real estate prices. I don’t think that there is a candidate who has had the right experience in various fields as much as I do.”
-Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myeong climbed with universal welfare theory. What are your thoughts on the basis of the welfare policy?
“It is not a proper approach to divide all welfare into universal or selective welfare. Regardless of the parents’ economic situation, it became common sense to provide compulsory education to all students. However, it makes no sense to expand cash welfare assistance to the entire population (like Lee’s basic income). Rather, it is correct to help the recipients of basic living more intensively.”
-Is it due to welfare financial problems?
“If the national finance is infinite, it would be good to give it to all the people. However, Korea’s national fiscal situation is getting worse. In order to see the welfare effect properly, we should not spread welfare benefits’to everyone, shallowly’, but focus on those who really need help.”
-Is the Moon Jae-in government’s perception that there is a problem with the government’s financial management?
“By the end of this year, the national debt ratio is expected to exceed 50% of the gross domestic product (GDP). In the past, it was said that the ratio was limited to 40%. President Moon Jae-in also strongly criticized the rising national debt ratio during the Park Geun-hye administration. After he took over as president, he is creating an era of ‘1,000 trillion of national debt’ by increasing his debts more than any other president in the past. Financial expansion is necessary to support the Corona 19 damage, but it is also necessary to plan whether it can be restored again. Spreading money without saying anything about tax increases is to deceive the people.”
On the 9th of last month, CEO Ahn Chul-soo of the National Assembly Party, who took the by-election of the Mayor of Seoul, is looking around the redevelopment site of Baeksa Village in Junggye-dong, Nowon-gu. News 1
Real estate policy is the biggest concern of Seoul citizens. Representative Ahn pledged to promote the supply of a total of 746,000 houses over the next five years by creating an environment in which the private sector can actively promote redevelopment and reconstruction projects.
-Supply 746,000 units over 5 years, is there any reality?
“It is a pledge made with various experts. We looked at the whole of Seoul and searched for all possible sites, and we also conducted a floor area ratio simulation. The result was exactly 746,000. Some media evaluated that my real estate policy was the most rational among the ruling and opposition Seoul mayors.”
-How do you evaluate the government’s 2ㆍ4 real estate measures? Reconstruction and redevelopment are hot potatoes.
“There is a problem with the second and fourth measures. This is because it is based on’real estate nationalism’ that the state will do all the redevelopment and reconstruction. Redevelopment and reconstruction should be solved by mutually complementary cooperation between the private sector and the public. After the announcement of the countermeasures, transactions in the areas expected to be developed have been completely stopped, and the surrounding market prices are rising. Real estate prices can be stabilized only by taking measures such as’short-term and temporary transaction tax cuts’ so that multi-homed people can sell their products.”
Ahn Cheol-soo, the head of the National Assembly Party, smiles brightly as he prepares for an interview with the Hankook Ilbo on the 2nd. An actor
President Ahn, who wanted to pursue the presidential election in 2022, turned to run for mayor of Seoul in December last year. Many people predict that Ahn will run for the next presidential election, whether or not he will be the mayor of Seoul.
-Are you planning on going to the presidential election next year?
“I told you when I declared running for mayor of Seoul that I would not go out (laughs). It has been five years for the implementation of the Seoul real estate and economic policies that I pledged.”
-Today, a year, a week before the presidential election, where and what will you be doing?
“The mayor of Seoul cannot directly participate in the presidential election. Since the elections are in the middle of the politics, the political circles will be in turmoil, and everyone will be throwing away the government, so I will be taking care of the city.”
Hyunbin Kim reporter [email protected]
Danbi Kim Intern reporter
News directly edited by the Hankook Ilbo can also be viewed on Naver.
