Gominjeong: "Kim Eunkyung, Innovation Committee Chair, Pro-Moon? First Time Hearing That"

The Democratic Party of Korea has appointed Professor Kim Eun-kyung of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Law School as the successor to the resigned Innovation Committee Chair Lee Rae-kyung. Pro-Moon (친문) Democratic Party lawmaker Ko Min-jung highly praised him, saying, "I have high expectations that he must be a person with great resolve and boldness."

On the 16th, Ko said on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show', "After hearing some stories from his time at the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), I learned that even amid the change of the FSS chief, he managed to maintain and protect his position," she said.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Professor Kim served as the Vice Chairman of the Financial Supervisory Service during the Moon Jae-in administration and is classified as 'Pro-Moon'. Regarding the appointment of the Innovation Committee Chair, the Pro-Moon faction supported Professor Kim, the Pro-Myung (친명) faction backed Professor Jung Geun-sik, Professor Emeritus at Seoul National University, and the Non-Myung (비명) faction supported former Jang-an University President Kim Tae-il. Ultimately, the Pro-Moon faction's candidate was selected.

However, when asked by the host whether the Innovation Committee Chair was the candidate supported by the Pro-Moon faction, Ko responded, "This is the first time I’ve heard that. Maybe my information is lacking because I’m not Pro-Moon," adding, "I have never heard that before."

She continued, "(The reason Professor Kim is classified as Pro-Moon) is probably because he was appointed during the Moon Jae-in administration, but if you look at it that way, Professor Jung was also appointed during our administration." Professor Jung served as the Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission during the previous government.

Within the party, some voices call for pursuing reforms such as abolishing the delegate system and introducing a member recall system. Regarding this, Ko said, "Those are necessary as well. The Innovation Committee should provide answers to those," adding, "But it won’t be the chair alone; the committee will be composed of members who will deliberate together. I hope that with the inclusion of people who understand political and party situations well, intense discussions will emerge."

Nonetheless, she suggested that understanding public sentiment is more important than internal party democratization. She said, "While internal party democratization is necessary, what is more important is how the Democratic Party positions itself as an opposition party in South Korea," adding, "It is the role of our current lawmakers to fight against issues like the Fukushima contaminated water and conduct government questioning, but what do the people want from the Democratic Party? What transformation is needed for it to be loved again as a party? The Innovation Committee was launched to find answers to these questions."

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