[Person人] General Kim Taenyeon Holding the 'Sword of Justice'... From Dirt Spoon to Jeondaehyeop, Pro-Democracy, and Pro-Moon Factions

Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the 'Post-Corona Era Untact Industry Strategy Forum' held at the National Assembly on the 13th, delivering a greeting./Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] "I will not share."

The 21st National Assembly has not yet opened its doors, but the power of the 'super ruling party' is already being felt. At the center of this is Kim Tae-nyeon, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. First, he says he will examine whether the convention of allocating standing committee chairpersons according to the proportion of seats is appropriate.

The overwhelming number of 177 seats has led to expressions such as 'omnipotent' and 'virtually all-powerful.' It is like holding the legendary 'Holy Sword (Seonggeom).' The general wielding the Holy Sword is Floor Leader Kim. He shows determination to take key positions such as the Chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Chairperson of the Budget and Accounts Committee. He also aims to block the opposition party's intentional obstruction of parliamentary proceedings through amendments to the National Assembly Act.

If the negotiation for the organization of the National Assembly is not properly conducted, he has also left open the possibility of voting. The National Assembly Act stipulates that standing committee chairpersons are elected by the plenary session. In a democracy based on majority rule, Floor Leader Kim's decision could soon become reality. However, he is cautious about a backlash from public opinion. In fact, the U.S. Congress operates under a system where the majority party monopolizes standing committees.

The Democratic Party defines the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis as a national disaster and is putting its life on the line for quarantine and economic recovery. This can be seen as expressing a determination not to miss the crisis. Floor Leader Kim emphasizes, "Bold and proactive fiscal policy is essential to overcome the employment crisis." A showdown with the United Future Party, which prioritizes fiscal soundness, seems inevitable over the third supplementary budget.

Floor Leader Kim is a figure who succinctly represents the identity of the Democratic Party in many ways. Born in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do, he grew up under a shoemaker father and a mother who sold fish. He graduated from Suncheon High School and entered Kyung Hee University in 1983. During the era of dictatorship, he gave up an ordinary college life. He devoted himself to student activism and served as the president of the student council in 1987. He was active as a first-generation executive of the National Council of Student Representatives (Jeondaehyeop) and stood at the center of the June Democratic Uprising, even experiencing a life on the run from the police.

The June Democratic Uprising is a fundamental ideology mentioned alongside the April Revolution, Bu-Ma Democratic Protests, Gwangju Democratization Movement, and Candlelight Citizen Revolution in the first part of the Democratic Party's platform. Coincidentally, the previous floor leader, Lee In-young, served as the chairman of Jeondaehyeop at that time. This is also read as evidence that the so-called '86 Group,' which was once even demanded to resign, has now solidified its position as the core force of the Democratic Party.

In the 2017 presidential election, he served as co-head of the Central Election Countermeasures Headquarters' special advisory group and led a special advisory group of about 26,000 people, actively responding to 'fake news.' Not only is he 'pro-Moon (pro-Moon Jae-in),' but tracing back, he started his political career as 'pro-Roh (pro-Roh Moo-hyun).' He began with the 'Protect Roh Moo-hyun Candidate' movement in 2002 and served as co-head of the Seongnam branch of the election headquarters. He entered the National Assembly at the age of 40 in the 17th general election in 2004. Although he lost by the smallest margin nationwide in the 18th general election, he was consecutively elected in the 19th, 20th, and 21st general elections.

He is so-called 'dirt spoon' origin, former Jeondaehyeop leadership, pro-Roh and pro-Moon?keywords symbolizing his career. He can be called the legitimate heir of the Democratic Party.

If one were to pick a keyword for his style, it would be 'passion.' He has been praised for achieving results beyond expectations regardless of the position he holds. President Moon Jae-in praised him in the recommendation for Kim's 2014 book Reflection and Innovation, saying, "Member of the National Assembly Kim Tae-nyeon is a passionate politician. His philosophy for good politics is as firm as his passion."

He is also a representative 'policy expert.' Following Representative Choo Mi-ae, he was consecutively appointed as the chairman of the Policy Committee under the Lee Hae-chan leadership. He is evaluated as fitting the situation of strongly promoting post-COVID and New Deal policies. In a past report titled "Core Tasks of the 18th Presidential Election Evaluation," Floor Leader Kim analyzed, "When approaching national agendas with a merchant-like sense of reality, it is possible to become a governing power capable of managing state affairs." It seems likely that he will focus on policies that bring about practical changes immediately. Kim Jae-won, a representative policy expert of the United Future Party, even evaluated him as "an incredibly genius person in practical or policy aspects," distinguishing him from other Democratic Party lawmakers who only shout slogans.

On the other hand, he is also evaluated as having a prickly and straightforward personality. Although he holds an overwhelming number of seats, cooperation with the opposition party is a basic task. An opposition party official said, "Floor Leader Kim has shown ability to fight and achieve results, but whether he can smoothly communicate and cooperate with the opposition party is uncertain."

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