Yoon calls for unity at ruling party convention

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, March 8 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol attended the ruling People Power Party's (PPP) national convention Wednesday, and called for unity among its members and soon-to-be leaders.

Yoon gave congratulatory remarks at the convention at the KINTEX exhibition center in Goyang, just northwest of Seoul, before the PPP was to announce the results of a vote on who should lead the party through next year's general elections.

Of the four candidates -- Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, and attorney Chun Ha-ram -- the winner will also be tasked with pushing Yoon's agenda forward.

"We must all become one with the leadership that will be newly elected. In the People Power Party's internal elections, there are no winners or losers," Yoon said. "All of us who make up our party must think only about the people as the first, second and third priority, and jointly move forward."

Yoon called for eradicating the "cartels" of people with vested interests and adjusting the country's institutions to global standards to enable a free and fair market.

He also called for "unwaveringly and speedily" pushing reforms in labor, education and pensions -- his administration's top three areas of reform -- to ensure the country's sustainability and for the sake of younger generations.

Yoon further stressed the importance of "quickly normalizing" relations with foreign countries.

"Solidarity and cooperation between nations sharing universal values is an issue directly linked to not only our survival in the international community and our national interest but also our Constitutional values of a liberal democracy and market economy," he said.

"The same goes for rebuilding the South Korea-U.S. alliance that has collapsed, and restoring the relationship between South Korea and Japan," he added.

Yoon called for squarely facing the fact that trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan is more important than ever in order to overcome the global polycrisis and the security crisis, including the threat of North Korea's nuclear program.

hague@yna.co.kr
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