Kukim 'Innovation Committee Chair' Who Will It Be? "Must Give Full Authority" "Role Distribution Needs to Be Clarified"

Hataekyung, Yun Heekyung, Jung Unchan, Kim Byungjun, Kim Hangil Mentioned
Political Role of Innovation Committee Chair Draws Attention Ahead of Ruling Party's General Election

Amid the ruling party's defeat in the by-election for the mayor of Gangseo District, Seoul, the party has begun forming an Innovation Committee, with potential chairpersons including Rep. Ha Tae-kyung of the People Power Party, former Rep. Yoon Hee-sook, former Prime Minister Chung Un-chan, former Emergency Committee Chairman Kim Byung-joon, and People’s Integration Committee Chairman Kim Han-gil.

While the Democratic Party’s 'Kim Eun-kyung Innovation Committee' was widely regarded as ineffective due to the lack of full authority, there are calls for the People Power Party to clearly define the powers of the Innovation Committee as well.

Rep. Ha, mentioned as one of the candidates for Innovation Committee chairperson, said on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 20th, "(Give full authority) Otherwise, it will be difficult to elect a proper Innovation Committee chairperson," adding, "Otherwise, the trust in the 'Kim Ki-hyun leadership' will further decline, so I think such a decisive move is necessary."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

At a closed-door meeting held the previous day, the leadership discussed several candidates for the Innovation Committee chairperson, including Rep. Ha, former Rep. Yoon, senior politicians, professors, and startup CEOs, but no conclusion was reached. The People Power Party had planned to appoint the Innovation Committee chairperson as early as this weekend, but it appears to be facing difficulties in the selection process.

When asked by the host whether he would accept the chairperson position if offered, Rep. Ha said, "Some conditions are necessary. For example, do not reject decisions made by the Innovation Committee. This is the most important," adding, "Also, do not interfere with whom I appoint as innovation personnel, those two." In other words, he implied that he would only accept the position if granted de facto full authority.

There are also calls to clearly allocate a certain level of authority, even if full authority is not granted. Kim Geun-sik, former head of vision and strategy for the People Power Party, said on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "The important thing is that the distribution of authority between the party leader and the Innovation Committee chairperson must be clearly defined," adding, "Since it depends on how much authority the party leader grants, there must be a clear agreement between Leader Kim and the prospective or accepted Innovation Committee chairperson before the announcement."

Former Justice Party Rep. Park Won-seok also said on SBS radio, "Since Leader Kim has been reaffirmed both inside and outside the party, the Innovation Committee’s role is very limited. Therefore, the party leader must grant the Innovation Committee chairperson the authority to dismiss," adding, "Ahead of next year’s general election, for the People Power Party to win, clear standards must be established to determine suitability and unsuitability, and the chairperson must be given the role to dismiss accordingly; otherwise, the Innovation Committee chairperson will have nothing to do."

Rep. Cho Jung-hoon of the Transition Era Party, who recently decided to join the People Power Party, pointed out the importance of internal acceptance of Innovation Committee reforms. He said on SBS radio, "There is a shortage of capable entries, so there is a sense of recycling and deliberation," adding, "It has reached the limit where no more impressive or inspiring outcomes can be expected, and now the issue remains of how the Innovation Committee and external reforms will be accepted internally."

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