New Minjoo Party Leader Choo Mi Ae to Strongly Oppose THAAD Deployment
On Saturday, The Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK), South Korea's major opposition party, elected Rep. Choo Mi Ae as its new chairwoman. Following the election of its newest party leader, the party is expected to show strong opposition to the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in the country.
Choo is a five-term lawmaker from a district in eastern Seoul. She replaced former MPK chief Kim Chong In.
The Korea Herald reported that during her acceptance speech at the party's national caucus in Seoul, Choo hinted that she will be aggressive and will take a more hawkish approach against South Korean President Park Geun Hye and the ruling Saenuri Party.
Choo stated, "I will consider each and every vote I got a heaven-sent command to cure division (within the party), make a strong opposition by unification and win in a fair presidential race on July 20, 2017, by any means. I will serve by winning."
The new opposition party chairman also vowed to go against the government's decision to deploy a U.S. anti-missile system in the country.
She said, "I will make opposition to the THAAD battery the party's official position. We cannot let China and the U.S. clash on the Korean Peninsula."
Choo also said that she will make more progressive-leaning changes in the party's main policies. Some MPK Party insiders said that the party will now take a stronger stance against the Saenuri Party in Assembly negotiations.
After the elections, Choo told the reporters, "The biggest discontent of party members is that we have not acted properly as an opposition party. I faced calls from them to become more dogged. I am determined to make our party a strong opposition party. We will stand against the President if she ignores and manages state affairs singlehandedly against the public call. This is a way of winning the presidential election."
During her campaign for the chairmanship, Choo promised to push for economic democratization bills that aim to ease the income gap, redistribute cash reserves of corporations, and protect subcontractors and non-regular workers treated unjustly by management.