The People Power Party's Ongoing Experiment in Recruiting Youth... Can It Go Beyond Being Just a 'Face Ambassador'?

Recruiting Policy Speech Speakers, Selecting Youth Assistants
"Need for Willingness to Actively Utilize"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Since Lee Jun-seok took office as the party leader, the People Power Party, which has recruited many ‘youth’ members to key party positions, is now publicly selecting policy speech speakers and youth aides. Although many young people have joined the party or the election campaign committee in this way, some critics argue that it may be merely for show without giving them ‘proper roles.’

According to the People Power Party on the 17th, the party is recruiting presidential election policy broadcast speakers from the public until the 24th. Leader Lee explained the purpose by saying, "We are giving the opportunity to deliver broadcast speeches not to Yeouido politicians but to the angry people who want change." Along with this, the party is also preparing to select youth aides to be assigned to the youth headquarters of the election campaign committee. The final list is expected to be confirmed after the final interview on the 18th. Jang Ye-chan, co-head of the youth headquarters, said in a phone call on the same day, "We plan to select about 20 people in the final interview," adding, "We intend to establish a systematic system so that they can perform practical tasks in each headquarters."

Previously, the People Power Party attracted attention by selecting four spokespersons through a recruitment event called ‘I am a National Representative.’ They are currently active in practical work such as broadcasting and commentary, but since their term is six months and their roles are indirect compared to existing party spokespersons, there are criticisms. Political commentator Lee Jong-hoon said, "It is positive in that there is an effort to reflect the voices of youth in politics," but added, "However, it still does not help solve the fundamental problems faced by young people. It is impossible to win the hearts of youth by appointing spokespersons or aides."

For the newly selected youth aides to achieve their purpose, efforts at the election campaign committee level seem necessary. A People Power Party official expressed concern, saying, "There needs to be a willingness from the candidate and each headquarters chief to actively utilize the youth aides," adding, "If they are not interested, the youth aides will just be nominal positions."

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