Jang Kyung-tae "Kim Ki-hyun's Yeonpotang? Yeondae Pogitang"

"Let's Meet with the President and Party Leaders to Discuss Livelihood Issues"

Jang Kyung-tae, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, mocked the leadership formation of party leader Kim Ki-hyun, who proposed 'Yeonpotang' (Yeondae·Poyong·Tangpyeong, meaning Solidarity·Inclusion·Balance), saying, "It's not Solidarity and Inclusion Tangpyeong, but 'Solidarity Abandonment' Tang," and added, "If Yeonpotang lacks octopus, it's just cabbage soup."

On the 16th, Jang appeared on KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs' and criticized, "After the party convention ends, there are gestures of inclusion, reconciliation, and consideration for the defeated candidates and losers," but "right after it ends, they say to drive out all the traitors and expel them."

Jang pointed out, "They are almost writing a death list. I thought it was the ostracism method," and asked, "Has there ever been a time in party history with no consideration for losing candidates like this?" The ostracism method refers to an ancient Greek democratic practice where citizens voted to exile individuals deemed a threat to the state.

He then proposed that the president and the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties meet to discuss pressing livelihood issues. Jang emphasized, "Although the wording differs when the ruling and opposition parties compete in elections, many pledges are similar," and "Livelihood issues that can be addressed through legislation should be discussed together by both sides."

Jang explained, "For example, we also agree with the pledge to enshrine the spirit of the May 18 Democratic Uprising in the constitution. Besides that, there are similar pledges such as support for basic livelihood security recipients and support for the lower-income bracket under health insurance." He added, "The form of the meeting is not important," and said, "Not only Representative Kim but also President Yoon Seok-youl should make more efforts to get closer to the people."

Jang Kyung-tae, member of the Democratic Party of Korea./Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

However, he stated that he does not agree with the government's amendment proposal for the '69-hour workweek.' Jang said, "Isn't the 69-hour workweek also a legislative matter? I do not agree with such an absurd amendment, but I say let's negotiate on proposals that can be agreed upon."

As a reason for opposing the 69-hour workweek, he said, "The 52-hour workweek was a social agreement that was difficult to achieve," and "The government's first labor policy being a 69-hour workweek inevitably invites much criticism." Jang pointed out, "OECD countries that stand shoulder to shoulder with us are promoting a 4.5-day workweek, but we are rather suggesting 69 hours," and "If calculated over 7 days, that's 80.5 hours; over 5 days, you would have to work from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. to meet that time. Where are such workplaces in today's world?"

Jang continued, "Of course, if there is a project, there are cases where it must be done," but added, "It is nonsense to put something that should be a personal choice and discussed during the work process into law." He also said, "There is a saying that labor is not a subject of trade," and added, "If wage negotiations had been conducted like this, and the government had stepped in to discuss raising monthly leave and weekly holiday allowances a bit more, many workers would have been pleased."

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