Leader of leftist splinter party joins presidential race

Rep. Sim Sang-jung, a former leader of the leftist United Progressive Party waves her hand after officially announcing her presidential bid at the Jeon Tae-il bridge in central Seoul, Sunday. / Yonhap

Rep. Sim Sang-jung, a leader of a faction that split from the center-left Unified Progressive Party (UPP), announced Sunday that she will run in the December presidential election, pledging efforts to fight for 99 percent of the people.

Characterizing the top 1 percent of people as the privileged having control over the society, the second-term lawmaker said she would dedicate herself to improving people’s livelihoods and welfare.

“Vote for me on election day if you want a change in government,” she said during a news conference to declare her presidential bid at the Jeon Tae-il bridge in central Seoul.

“A progressive party will save labor. You need to bear in mind that during the Lee Myung-bak government, conglomerates have run out of control, further marginalizing blue-collar workers marginalized.”

The 53-year-old politician promised to work for the interest of the working-class, spearheading peace on the Korean Peninsula and beyond.

Sim, along with several like-minded lawmakers, left the scandal-ridden UPP earlier to create a new minority party. The new party is likely to be launched within this month.

During the outdoor news conference, Rep. Sim expressed her willingness to join any possible discussion leading to the selection of a standard bearer to lead a unified opposition comprising of the Democratic United Party (DUP) and the independent Ahn Cheol-soo camp.

Earlier, Rep. Moon Jae-in, the presidential candidate of the DUP, proposed that Ahn join hands for the negotiation to select a unified candidate, a suggestion rejected by Ahn.

It is not clear whether the opposition alliance can be achieved as Moon and his supporters desperately want to win the election Sparking fears of an inevitable split in votes.

Sim has a long history of labor activism, after she graduated from Seoul National University.

She started her career as a manufacturing sector worker in Guro in 1980. She cheated on her academic background as back then a person having a university degree was not allowed to get a manufacturing sector job as a blue-collar worker.

Sim led the first labor strike in the Guro industrial complex as a tailor in 1985, calling for improvements in labor conditions.

The former UPP head worked for the trade union association of the Korean Confederation of Trade Union trying to improve labors rights. <The Korea Times/Ryu Chang-gi>

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