Minor opposition leader calls for pan-opposition alliance for presidential election

Minor opposition leader calls for pan-opposition alliance for presidential election. January. 21, 2016 07:53. by 차길호기자 kilo@donga.com. Shim Sang-jung, the leader of the minor opposition Justice Party, proposed on Wednesday that all opposition parties create an alliance. Taking a step further from the previous day's offer by Moon Jae-in, chairman of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, of opposition unity for the April 13 parliamentary elections, Shim has made the proposal with next year's presidential election in mind as well.

At her New Year's news conference at the National Assembly, she said she will seek to form a consultative body for the pan-opposition camp as a starting point for achieving an opposition alliance that would go beyond adjusting opposition candidacies for the parliamentary elections.

As the Justice Party has accepted the main opposition party chief's proposal, it seems that the discussion of an opposition alliance is taking shape officially. However, there is a long way to go before the opposition parties sit together for full-fledged talks. The Minjoo Party, which is seeking to attract moderate voters, finds it burdensome to have a policy alliance with the Justice Party, which has clearly advocates progressive agendas. Kim Bu-gyeom, a former lawmaker of the Minjoo Party, said his party does not have a base broad enough to share the policy agendas and values of a progressive party. In November last year, Moon also said it was "premature" to seek a coalition government with the Justice Party. Chun Jung-bae, who is seeking to found a new party, said Shim's proposal was not an "immediate issue," adding the lack of innovation in the opposition camps should be addressed first.

After Ahn Chul-soo, who is leading the founding of the People's Party, dismissed the call for the opposition alliance, Roh Hoe-chan, former lawmaker of the Justice Party, criticized him for "negating himself," arguing that Ahn had increased his "political value" in the process of previous opposition alliances ahead of major elections.