Kim Boo-kyum Holds Back on Current Issues... Interest in 'Next Prime Minister' Drops Sharply

Prime Minister nominee Kim Boo-kyum is answering questions from reporters as he arrives at the confirmation hearing preparation office set up at the Financial Supervisory Service Training Institute in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 20th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] Kim Boo-kyum, the nominee for Prime Minister, is extremely reserved in commenting on major issues such as real estate policy and the pardoning of former presidents. Although the parliamentary personnel verification process has not yet begun and he has stated his intention to answer sincerely at the hearing, there are criticisms that interest in him as the next prime minister nominee is low.

Since the 19th, Kim has been commuting daily to the Financial Supervisory Service Training Institute in Jongno-gu, Seoul, where the hearing preparation team has been organized. As an official schedule for the next prime minister nominee, brief Q&A sessions with the press regarding current issues have taken place every day during his commute over the past week.

However, on his first day commuting, Kim avoided answering questions on current issues, saying, "This is not a place to provide answers." On the following day, the 20th, when asked about his opinion on the pardon debate concerning former Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, he replied, "I have not yet had enough time to grasp the full context," before entering the building.

Regarding other issues such as COVID-19 vaccine supply, the new airport in Gadeokdo, and the Ulsan mayor’s alleged directive investigation, Kim only briefly responded, "I will clarify during the hearing."

The only area where he somewhat expressed his opinion was on real estate policy related to the comprehensive real estate tax, which has recently sparked debate in political circles about easing regulations. On the 22nd, Kim said, "Principles should not be broken," and on the 23rd, he added, "There are principles that our government has maintained so far, and there are reasons why the tax system related to real estate was set that way," further stating, "If principles are easily shaken, it could send the wrong message to the entire real estate market, so we must be cautious." This was interpreted as a statement putting the brakes on the 'comprehensive real estate tax easing' proposal raised by some within the Democratic Party of Korea, which suffered a significant defeat in the election.

This will be Kim’s second hearing. He previously underwent a parliamentary hearing when he served as the first Minister of the Interior and Safety under the Moon Jae-in administration. Since he has already passed verification and is a politician by background, it is expected that he will smoothly pass the second hearing as the nominee for prime minister.

However, the downside is that the level of attention toward the next prime minister is correspondingly low. Former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun held briefings and communicated directly on various issues. Regarding this, a member of the hearing preparation team stated, "Currently, there are no plans for briefings on current issues."

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