[바른미래당x정치개혁공동행동] 선거제도 개혁 협약 및 간담회를 진행하였습니다.

바른미래당 원내대표 김관영의원의 인사말입니다.
" 바미당은 어제 정의당, 민평당과 함께 선거제도 개혁 간담회를 진행했습니다. 정치개혁특위를 7월에 합의했음에도 불구하고 아직 시작을 안하고 있어 빨리 후속조치를 해야하기 때문입니다. 정치개혁특위가 속히 출범해 그 역할을 해서 연동형비례대표제를 이뤄야합니다. 거대양당의 힘으로 선거제도 개혁이 안될 수 있기에 바미당과 정의당, 민평당이 힘을 합치겠습니다. 이해득실을 떠나 20대 국회가 잘되기 위해 바미당이 앞장서서 열심히 하겠다는 것을 약속드립니다. "

일시/장소: 2018년 9월 12일 수요일 오전10시. 국회본관 215호

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#바른미래당 x #정치개혁공동행동 협약식은 공개. 간담회는 비공개로 진행되었습니다~

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바른미래당 당대표 손학규의원과 정치개혁공동행동 참가단체인 경제정의실천시민연합 신철영 공동대표가 선거제도 개혁 공동협약서를 체결하였습니다.

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바른미래당x공동행동 선거제도 개혁 협약문을 낭독하였습니다.

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바른미래당에서는 당대표 손학규의원, 원내대표 김관영의원, 김성식의원, 채이배의원, 김삼화의원, 오신환의원, 김민훈 정책자문위원이 참석하셨습니다.

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정치개혁공동행동에서는 민변 송상교 사무총장, 김호철 회장, 김준우 사무차장, 여연 김영순 공동대표, 오경진 활동가, 여세연 이진옥 대표,
경실련 신철영 공동대표, 윤순철 총장, 참여연대 박근용 상임집행위원, 최은순 촛불청소년인권법제정연대 상임대표, YMCA 류홍번 정책실장, 비례연대 하승수 공동대표, 최영선, 김현우 활동가, 김성훈 인턴이 참석하였습니다.

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#비례연대 하승수 공동대표님 발언.
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#젠더정치연구소 이진옥 대표님 발언.
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#참여연대 박근용 상임집행위원님 발언.
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#YMCA 류홍번 정책실장님 발언.

2018년 선거제도 개혁 골든타임 주어진 모든 것들을 총동원하여 이뤄내었으면 좋겠습니다.

President Moon Jae-in arrives in Washington this Wednesday for two days of talks with US President Donald J. Trump. While political observers will be watching closely for any signs of disagreement over Moon’s desire to improve intra-Korean relations through dialogue and engagement, the most significant discussions are likely to take place out of the public eye.

One of those events will be on the Friday night after the summit, when President Moon delivers an important policy speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), one of Washington’s most powerful think tanks. Funded heavily by the US and Japanese governments as well as major defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the THAAD system, the organization has played a key role in shaping US policy towards Korea for decades.

Last fall, John Hamre, the CEO of CSIS and a former deputy secretary of defense, made public comments expressing deep concern over the rising strength of South Korea’s left-leaning political parties. “We have to do something so we don’t become an issue in [Korea’s] next election,” he told a forum at the right-wing Heritage Foundation in October. “There’s a strong strain in the left parties that America is the problem.”

Eight months later, CSIS and the US foreign policy establishment have been forced to accept a new, independent South Korean leader with an agenda markedly different than his conservative predecessors. The new reality was clear on Monday, when Victor Cha, a CSIS senior adviser and the former director of Korean affairs for the George W. Bush administration, addressed a Seoul conference on the US-Korean alliance co-sponsored by CSIS and Joongang Ilbo (with Samsung, it is a major donor to the think tank).

Cha, who is about to be named the next US ambassador to South Korea, began his speech by praising the “extraordinary demonstration of democracy at work” during what he called the “crisis” over the impeachment of Park Geun-hye. But he quickly shifted into lecture mode, warning the Moon government not to take “unilateral action” on North Korea and to avoid “unconditional” economic assistance that could violate the current sanction regime endorsed by the UN.

In a subtle dig at Moon’s strong emphasis on North Korea, Cha insisted that the new government should prioritize the US-ROK alliance as “critical to dealing with the North Korean threat.” He argued that differences between Seoul and Washington could only be managed with “true, seamless, almost daily policy coordination” between the two sides. His speech sounded much like a practice run for his term as US ambassador, although some Koreans might wonder if “governor-general” might be a better term.

Cha’s comments underscored that Moon will likely face open criticism and skepticism in Washington, where the political establishment is united behind tough, militaristic policies towards North Korea. Over the last two years, discussions about regime change and pre-emptive strikes have become almost routine in both Democratic and Republican circles, and eagerly reported on by journalists of both liberal and conservative bent.

The latest trigger for US hostility is the strange case of Otto Warmbier, the Virginia college student who was arrested in 2015 by North Korean authorities and suddenly returned to the United States in June in a coma. His doctors quickly dismissed North Korean claims that his brain damage was induced when he contracted botulism and then took a sleeping pill. But according to the Washington Post, doctors did not find any evidence that he was beaten or tortured, as alleged by his family.

Warmbier’s death several days after his return triggered angry denunciations of Pyongyang from Trump, his cabinet and many lawmakers. “The young Ohioan’s death may force President Donald Trump to take a tougher line with North Korea, a shift that could increase tensions with Beijing,” declared CNN, which typically views Korea only in terms of US relations with China. Several House and Senate lawmakers said they would push for a new law banning Americans from traveling to the North except in official capacities.

Meanwhile, US right-wingers disturbed by President Moon’s embrace of Kim Dae Jung’s Sunshine Policies, have started a relentless campaign to paint the new president as a dangerous leftist. Their latest target was Moon Chung-In, the president’s special advisor on foreign policy. Earlier this month, he told a Washington forum that US-South Korean military exercises, including the use of “strategic assets” such as aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines, could be scaled back if North Korea suspended its nuclear and missile tests.

This apparently irritated President Moon, whose office issued a terse statement asking the adviser to “exercise restraint.” In response, Bruce Klingner, a former CIA officer who directs Korea policy at Heritage, tweeted that “Moon Jung-in’s visit only exacerbated US concerns about Moon Jae-in’s policies on North Korea, US alliance, and THAAD.” A few days later, Joshua Stanton, a fanatical champion of regime change in North Korea, wrote a blistering attack on the South Korean president.

“Moon has spent his entire political career in the brain trust of South Korea’s hard left, among those who’ve shown more solidarity with North Korea than with America,” he wrote in his notoriously slanted blog, FreeKorea. These attacks prompted several Korean media outlets, such as the Chosun Ilbo, to declare that Moon Chung-In’s “dovish” comments had “raised hackles” in Washington.

But that was an exaggeration. In fact, key players in the US national security state have decided that Moon’s election, and his positions on North Korea, pose no threat to the US-Korean military alliance.

In an unusual public speech on Monday, Scott Bray, the National Intelligence Manager for East Asia at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, told a conference at Heritage that US spying agencies are spending enormous resources on North Korea. “There are few issues that garner the same level of attention at the highest levels of government” than North Korea, he said. But, asked if Moon’s election and anti-THAAD protests in Korea posed a problem for the United States as it confronts the North, he said no.

“I know that President Trump is looking forward to Moon’s visit, and know they will have a lot to talk about on North Korea and broader issues,” Bray replied. “I also know that, even with the changed domestic environment in South Korea, our alliance remains remarkably strong.” He added: “Even if at times our approach is somewhat different – if we prefer stronger measures and South Korea prefers engagement – ultimately we’re both dedicated to the same outcome.”

That may or may not true, but should set the right-wingers straight. This week’s visit could prove to be very interesting indeed.