[Interview] Ko Young-in "21st National Assembly, the Right Time to Expand the Social Safety Net"

Go Young-in, Democratic Party of Korea Ansan Danwon Gap Elected Representative
COVID-19 Will Be an Opportunity to Move Toward a Welfare State
Proposes 'Freshmen Communication Room' Gathering 68 First-Term Democratic Party Members

Go Young-in, elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea. / Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Go Young-in, the elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea from Ansan Danwon Gap, became a hot topic during this general election as a "newcomer who defeated a two-term incumbent from the United Future Party and a former National Assembly member from his own party in the nomination competition." After being elected, he also proposed a "Newly Elected Members Communication Room" that gathered all 68 first-term Democratic Party lawmakers. It is the largest group among first-term lawmakers' gatherings. He has been evaluated as having a "presence uncharacteristic of a first-term member."

In an interview with Asia Economy at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the afternoon of the 7th, Go stated that his goal for the 21st National Assembly activities is to "expand the social safety net." As the first step, he suggested "providing basic pensions to 100% of the elderly aged 70 and over." This is because the social safety net should be expanded starting from the most urgent areas. As a funding plan, he mentioned "increasing tax revenue through finer segmentation of income tax wage brackets." Although this is his first time in the National Assembly, he expressed confidence that he has been concretely planning policies, having served as a two-term member of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly and as the Democratic Party's representative lawmaker there.

Go emphasized that the 21st National Assembly, which will respond to the "post-COVID-19" era, is the right time to expand the social safety net. He said, "Until now, when talking about expanding the social safety net, many people thought 'high welfare = high taxes = no benefits,' but COVID-19 will be a major turning point for Korea to become a welfare state." He added, "The taxes I paid return as greater benefits, and when a crisis occurs that individuals cannot overcome, the safety net can function, which is an experience that has been accumulated." He also said, "It has also broken the prejudice that welfare is unrelated to the economy," adding, "We should re-examine the fact that the competitiveness of companies in Nordic countries is strong. Now is the time for Korea's orientation to shift from the U.S. and Japan to the Nordic countries."

However, he stated that a social consensus formation process must precede from a long-term perspective. Go cited the process of promoting free school meals for elementary, middle, and high schools, which he pursued in the provincial assembly, as an example. He said, "At that time, I received a lot of criticism asking, 'Should we also provide free meals to Lee Jae-yong's son?'" He continued, "However, when selective free meals are provided, it stigmatizes the children receiving meal support as 'low-income,' and there are costs involved in distinguishing children from the bottom 90% income households. I persuaded people by explaining these points and gained consensus."

Regarding organizing the Democratic Party's first-term members' group, he emphasized, "I am only playing the role of gathering opinions, not a representative at all." However, he said, "I think what the Democratic Party, which won 180 seats in the 21st National Assembly, needs most is the spirit of 'like the first time.'" He added, "I intend to collect and convey the voices of the purest and most passionate first-term lawmakers."

He continued, "First-term lawmakers are already struggling to gain strength, and among this group, there is a characteristic of being discouraged due to concerns about the '108 agony incident' of the Uri Party repeating," explaining, "There is a need for a channel to gather and convey the voices of first-term lawmakers." Regarding future plans, he said, "Joint statements from first-term members and group donations for disaster relief funds are coming in from each elected member, and we will discuss them," adding, "We need to start gathering discussions from now on."

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