‘Guardian of teenagers’ hopes to change campaign culture

Kang Ji-won

Kang Ji-won, a former prosecutor who became a youth mentor has decided to enter the presidential race in order to counter what he says is a lack of focus on core issues in the election race.

“Look at our campaigns. They are not about policies to help people’s livelihood or strengthen the nation’s competitiveness,” Kang told The Korea Times.

“The candidates are spending most of their time going places to beg for votes while not paying enough attention to their core issues.”

The 63-year-old lawyer admitted he has little chance of winning but is determined to pursue a bid for the presidency.

He said that in contrast to the leading candidates, he holds policy talks on a daily basis to set out plans for the nation’s future.

Alone, perhaps he can’t make a big difference to the outcome of the Dec. 19 vote but he can combine with other minor candidates and make an impact, if the election is closely contested.

Ruling Saenuri Party candidate Park Geun-hye is still the front-runner, but main opposition Democratic United Party’s Moon Jae-in and independent Ahn Cheol-soo are quite close in the opinion polls.

Kang, who has earned the nickname “Guardian of Teenagers” said that he opposes a president who represents a particular party stance.

“In Korea, former presidents have tended to be one-sided or biased according to which party they were from, resulting in division within the political arena and the nation,” he said. “I think the president this time should be independent so that he or she can embrace all factions. It would be a path to social unification. We can see this from George Washington’s example. He was independent but treated other parties equally.”

He didn’t say whether his stance means he will support Ahn.

“Korean politics and media tend to emphasize ratings too much and talk about the election like a horse race. But what is most important is to show the public specifically what the country will be like if you become president,” Kang said.

Regarding “economic democratization,” a hot issue for candidates trying to win the hearts and minds of voters with a positive wealth distribution policy, he said that humanitarian ideals should be reflected in economic policy.

“I will give conglomerates more freedom to help them become global enterprises, but at the same time I will ask them not to neglect a sense of community and fellowship so that they can care about smaller enterprises.”

He went on to say that it is important to help students find their aptitude at middle and high school and encourage them to start working in areas they want to right after graduating high school.

He also supports welfare expansion. “I will minimize free welfare because I think pure populism can hurt the economy. Free welfare will be given only to those who are really in need.” <The Korea Times/Jun Ji-hye>

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