Shin Jang-sik, acting leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, announces his bid for party leader at the National Assembly press center on Sunday. [Yonhap]
Shin Jang-sik, acting leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, announces his bid for party leader at the National Assembly press center on Sunday. [Yonhap]

Shin Jang-sik, candidate for leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, said he will launch a full 17-day campaign for the party leadership post, running from Wednesday through July 25.

Shin formally declared his candidacy on Sunday under the slogan "Solid foundations, clear policy, firm vision."

At the time, he said he would serve as "the left wing of Korean politics" and pledged to define the direction the Rebuilding Korea Party should take and the role it should play in the country's political landscape, vowing to uphold the principles of bold reform to the very end. After the announcement, he visited the graves of the late lawmaker Roh Hoe-chan and former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan, reaffirming his original convictions.

To open the campaign, Shin will visit the Hanwha Ocean and Samsung Heavy Industries shipyards in Geoje on Wednesday, the GM Korea factory and Hyundai Rotem in Changwon on Thursday, and HD Hyundai Heavy's Ulsan shipyard on Friday. At each site, he plans to hold policy discussions with labor unions and tour production floors to assess workers' conditions and industrial safety practices firsthand.

He will also visit regional small-business associations to hear the concerns of small merchants and self-employed workers, and will meet with citizens alongside Rebuilding Korea Party local council members elected in the June 3 local elections.

Shin's camp said it intends to use the campaign period not merely as an internal party contest but as an opportunity to visit labor and livelihood sites across the country, listen to the public and translate what they hear into policy. The plan is to show through "grassroots livelihood politics" — finding answers on the ground — that the Rebuilding Korea Party is a party that makes a real difference in people's lives.

"Grounded in the Rebuilding Korea Party's self-strengthening, we will forge alliances as naturally as breathing and build the next democratic reform government together as a responsible reform party that supports the success of the Lee Jae Myung administration," Shin said. "As party leader, I will carry out political activities that clearly prove the Rebuilding Korea Party's effectiveness and worth to the people."


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