By Jung Seok-jun, The Herald Business
People Power Party floor leader Jung Seok-jun said Monday that the party's recent rise in approval ratings should not be taken as a sign of its own success. Speaking at a PPP supreme council meeting at the National Assembly, Jung said the uptick was "not because we did well" but rather "an order to fight the ruling bloc — to check an arrogant administration that abandoned people's livelihoods the moment the election ended and became consumed by a power struggle, and to fight for the truth behind the June 3 violation of citizens' voting rights and for reform of the election management system."
Jung said the party must now "humbly accept the public sentiment expressed through the local elections, fill in where we fell short, and prepare to win the general election two years from now." He added that the PPP needed to develop policies for the people and the future, and build a system that reflects public opinion "more quickly, accurately and transparently" in party operations, parliamentary affairs and policy direction.
On the outcome of the June 3 local elections, Jung said the result was "not a victory for the ruling party, nor for the opposition, but a victory for a wise public." He said voters had "issued a sharp warning against the arrogance and unilateralism of a first-year government and ruling party, while at the same time giving the opposition a foundation to stand back up — along with a demand for deep reflection and renewal."
Jung also said the party must "respond to voters' thinking rather than stale political conventions," and vowed to transform the PPP into an "agile opposition that makes up for its numerical disadvantage through the nimble actions of its 110 lawmakers."
Turning to prime minister nominee Han Seong-sook, Jung criticized her as someone President Lee Jae-myung had once described — in his own words on real estate policy — as a "multi-homeowner like a demon, someone you shouldn't even ask to make a photocopy." Jung said Han "does not align with President Lee's own policy stance."
He called on President Lee to retract his "photocopy" and "demon" remarks before Han's confirmation hearing, and to shift the administration's real estate policy away from "demonizing multi-homeowners" toward expanding private housing supply and restoring the residential ladder.
Jung also demanded the dismissal of presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom, saying Kim had "posted no fewer than 37 items on social media over the past four months, sowing confusion among markets and the public over economic policy." He further called for a sweeping overhaul of the foreign affairs and security lineup, naming Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young — whom he accused of defending an "anti-constitutional two-state theory" and pushing to remove the designation of North Korea as the main enemy — and Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-baek, whom he blamed for hastily pursuing the merger of the Army, Navy and Air Force academies and dismantling the counterintelligence command responsible for catching spies.
mp1256@heraldcorp.com
