hankyoreh

A group of prominent citizens have banded together to urge the liberal camp to unify and select one presidential candidate ahead of the December 19 election. In a press conference held on November 19, the group said that it was time for the nation’s liberals to make an impression by uniting around common values, instead of being involved in value disputes. The group includes a Seoul National University professor emeritus, Paik Nak-chung; Catholic priests Han Se-ung and Kim Byung-sang; and Rev. Park Hyeong-gyu.

“With only 30 days left before the presidential election, many people are trying to denounce our 10-year, uphill struggle for democratization and peace as ‘a lost decade,’ while those who have spearheaded democratic reforms are likely to face defeat if they are not able to keep themselves in order,” the group said at the press conference.

They urged the liberal United New Democratic Party, Democratic Party, Create Korea Party and Democratic Labor Party to unite, saying that each of the parties should look for ways for the liberal camp to win the presidential election based on the advantages each one can bring to the race.

Eminent people from all walks of life, including poet Ko Un, director of Korea Legal Aid Center for Family Relations Kwak Bae-hee, literary critic Koo Jung-seo, Sangji University professor Kim Seong-hun, president of Dukdung Women’s University Ji Eun-hee, Buddhist monk Cheonghwa, and novelist Hwang Suk-young, signed the statement.

They criticized what they see as “the current confrontation between people who are indifferent to whether or not the current crop of presidential candidates are law-abiding or honest, and who pursue economic development by favoring large companies and rich people, and those who hold the opposing view.”

“Political maneuvering which is not based on values should naturally be criticized, but in a situation in which there is a clear value gap within the conservative forces, the forces of democratic reform should unite as much as possible through effective political strategizing,” they said.


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