United Future Party recruits Choi Seung-jae, opponent of 'Income-led Growth'... Shedding 'Well-being Party' Image (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The United Future Party differentiated itself by recruiting new talent from small business owners as soon as the National Assembly, which had been closed due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), reopened. This move showed their intention to criticize government economic policies such as 'income-led growth' and to reflect the voices of small business owners in policy.

The United Future Party's Talent Recruitment Committee announced on the 26th the recruitment of figures from the small business sector, including Choi Seung-jae, president of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, and Baek Dae-yong, president of the Consumer Citizens' Coalition, at the main conference room of the National Assembly.

President Choi has served as a director of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises, chairman of the Small and Medium Business Hope Foundation, and has been active as a member of the Economic, Social and Labor Council. As president of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, he has worked to improve the rights and interests of small business owners in South Korea. He has also been a vocal critic of the government's minimum wage increase and income-led growth policies.

Baek, a former lawyer, has been providing volunteer work and legal advice to consumers and consumer organizations since 2000 and has led the Consumer Citizens' Coalition since last year. Additionally, ten small business owners were recruited to the party, including female small business owner Lee Myung-rim, young entrepreneur Kim Byung-soo who runs a restaurant, rice cake shop owner Lee Hyun-soon, and chicken restaurant operator Kim Dong-hyun.

The recruitment aims to shed the 'well-being party' image that has continued since the Liberty Korea Party era and to sharpen criticism of the government's income-led growth policy. United Future Party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn emphasized, "We will not aim to be a well-being party but will become a party that goes among the people and takes care of the areas where the people are struggling the most. The symbol of this is the admission of President Choi and President Baek." Floor leader Shim Jae-chul also said, "Small business owners have been the most directly affected by the Moon Jae-in government's income-led growth policy. We will listen to the difficulties they have experienced on the ground and incorporate them into law to change the government's flawed policies."

President Choi explained his reason for joining, saying, "Small business owners, busy with their livelihoods, found it difficult to raise their voices and unite, but through the process of raising those voices, I realized that the solution ultimately depends on legislation." He added, "I will cooperate to create a society where small business owners and ordinary people, who have been most marginalized by income-led growth, can have hope." President Baek also raised his voice, saying, "We must unify this country, which has been divided by political ideology, and reorganize it into a market-centered economy."

Meanwhile, President Choi was investigated by prosecutors in 2018 on embezzlement charges but was cleared of all charges the following year. Given the frequent controversies surrounding the past records of recently recruited talents in political parties, there is a possibility that this could spark future disputes. The Democratic Party of Korea also faced controversy over its first recruited talent, Professor Choi Hye-young of Gangdong University, who was accused of fraudulent receipt of benefits. Allegations arose that Professor Choi and her spouse received about 400 million won in total by fraudulently collecting basic living expenses and support funds for severely disabled single-person households, amounting to about 2.6 million won monthly, without registering their marriage. In response, Professor Choi explained, "The reason for not registering the marriage was due to livelihood issues and anxiety about potentially having to take on the debts of my in-laws."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.