People Power Party Freshman Kim Woong Runs for Party Leader... "Only New Figures Can Carry the Hope of a New Era"

Party Reform Promises Including Nomination Reform and Expansion of Youth Political Opportunities
"If Elected Party Leader, I Will Sacrifice Myself by Running in Difficult Districts"

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Kim Woong, a member of the People Power Party, officially announced his candidacy for the party leadership election on the 13th. Kim said, "Only new figures can embody the hope of a new era," promising "irreversible change."

On the day, Kim held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office, stating, "The four years of the Moon Jae-in administration were a time of terrible pain for all of us," and added, "Yet, we (People Power Party) have still been ignored by the public." He said, "The public has not forgotten the painful memories of our party," and "Only new hope and change can cover those painful memories."

Kim Woong, Member of the People Power Party. / Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

As a first-term lawmaker, Kim said, "What the people are commanding us now is irreversible change," and "I want to be the beginning of that irreversible change."

He cited nomination reform as the top priority reform task. Kim said, "To break away from factional politics and the old politics called 'hotteok nomination,' strict nomination rules are necessary," adding, "We will establish a permanent Nomination Management Committee and settle a structure where nominations are decided through long-term candidate suitability and competitiveness surveys." He continued, "We will establish nomination rules that the party leader or Supreme Council members can never intervene in, and I will personally relinquish all authority in the nomination process for the next local elections to guarantee fairness in nominations."

Additionally, he promised to allocate 30% of nominations for basic and metropolitan local governments to youth aged 20 to 39. Furthermore, he said, "The future that the People Power Party must pursue is an engineering party that scientifically improves the lives of the people," and "I will invite a secretary-general from a managerial or engineering background to bring a wind of change to our party."

He also said he would establish a 'Korean-style Heritage Foundation' with a fund of 10 billion won to build a youth political ecosystem.

Meanwhile, Kim said, "If I become the party leader, I will either run in a difficult district or serve as an election supporter according to the party's wishes in the next general election," and "I will practice self-sacrifice that our party leaders have not shown so far."

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