Kim Jong-in's Personnel Reshuffle... Drawing a Line from Hardline Conservatives, Promoting New Faces?

Weight on Replacing 'Party Branch Chairpersons' Who Deny Impeachment and Do Not Acknowledge Former Presidents' Faults
Encouraging 'New Faces' to Run in By-Elections

Kim Jong-in, the Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is making a public apology at the National Assembly on the 15th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hye-min] Kim Jong-in, the Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, has announced changes along with an apology from a former president, drawing attention to the direction of the 'Kim Jong-in style' personnel reshuffle.

Inside and outside the party, the dominant expectation is that the focus will be on replacing district party chiefs to distance from hardline conservatives and showcasing a large number of new faces in the April by-election primaries next year. This is because Chairman Kim's public apology is ultimately aimed at winning over the centrist voters who have turned their backs on the People Power Party.

Replacing district party chiefs is the only personnel reshuffle authority that Chairman Kim holds. Right after the general election, when the 'Kim Jong-in system' was established, there was widespread speculation that this authority would not carry much weight, but the situation changes if it leads to a large-scale purge of hardline conservatives.

Previously, the Party Affairs Audit Committee completed an audit of non-incumbent district party chiefs and recommended replacing one-third of them, prioritizing the replacement of 'unfavorable figures.' On the 16th, Chairman Kim told reporters, "If I think I absolutely cannot go along with certain people, such people cannot be tolerated within the party," indicating the direction of the reshuffle.

Because of this, there is speculation inside and outside the party that so-called hardline conservative district party chiefs, such as former lawmakers Min Kyung-wook and Kim Jin-tae, who evoke strong rejection from centrists, will be the first targets for replacement. It is also known that the Party Affairs Audit Committee included them among those to be replaced. However, Chairman Kim has taken a reserved stance, stating that a process of hearing explanations is necessary, so the actual outcome is being closely watched.

Alongside this, Chairman Kim is encouraging political newcomers to run in the April by-elections next year, actively promoting 'new faces.'

Earlier, he encouraged first-term lawmakers such as Yoon Hee-sook to run, and it is reported that he also urged Kim Geun-sik, the district party chief of Seoul Songpa-gap, and Cho Eun-hee, the Seocho District Mayor, to run. A party official said, "Chairman Kim wants to create an election field with new faces," adding, "It seems the intention is to bring various new figures onto the primary stage to boost the excitement of the primaries and introduce new faces of the party."

However, overcoming the backlash from the remaining hardline conservative forces within the party and resistance to new figures remains a challenge.

In particular, dissatisfaction within the party over Chairman Kim's apology for the former president's mistakes could explode during the process of a high-intensity personnel reshuffle. Genuine recognition requires more definite follow-up measures after the apology, but the party is inevitably placed in a dilemma with internal noise. The 'new faces' mentioned ahead of the election are also not easily welcomed within the party.

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