Kim Eo-jun "Lee Jun-seok, Public Office Candidate Qualification Test? Are We Regressing to the Joseon Era"

Broadcaster Kim Eo-jun. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Regarding Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, pushing for the introduction of a 'public office candidate qualification exam,' broadcaster Kim Eo-jun sharply criticized, saying, "If you call this level of fairness, it is a regression to the Joseon Dynasty's civil service examination."

On the 20th, Kim said on his TBS radio show "Kim Eo-jun's News Factory," "How can you judge a public official (candidate)'s attitude and experience through an exam? There is no such country," expressing his view.

Kim also criticized Lee for applying the ideas of some conservative 2030 male-dominated communities to public official selection. He said, "They don't trust the existing system, so they say selecting through an exam is the fairest. This is what the so-called conservative male community in their 2030s calls fairness," adding, "This is an idea that only circulates within that community. Lee brought this into the party's public official candidate selection."

Meanwhile, the People Power Party leadership approved the launch of a 'Public Office Candidate Competency Enhancement TF' at the highest council meeting the day before. This TF is to prepare for Lee's party convention pledge of a 'public office candidate qualification exam,' but opposition is already emerging within the party.

On the same day, Kim Jae-won, a senior member of the party, appeared on MBC radio's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus" and said, "We almost all opposed the idea that selecting public office candidates should be like taking a driver's license test or a college entrance exam such as the CSAT or nationwide standardized tests."

He continued, "We are practicing representative democracy. Democracy basically means demo-cracy, rule by the people. The legislature represents the people, so the composition of the legislature should not be selected by an exam from a specific class. It should reflect the will of most people," explaining the reason for opposition.

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