[Yeouido Interview] Park Young-sun "The Side Demonstrating Diversity and Flexibility Will Win"

"Both Ruling and Opposition Parties Likely to Struggle for Majority Seats"
"Third Zone Must Let Go to Win"

"21st-century leaders must embrace diversity and have flexibility."

Former Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun presented two values necessary for leadership in politics and business in an interview on the 15th. Regarding her mention of 'embracing diversity,' Park said, "In the past, it was mass production, but now it is an era of multi-product custom production," adding, "To accommodate such diversity, the mindset itself must be diverse. Only then can new things be created." She continued, "Flexibility means horizontal leadership," and said, "You cannot win in the digital age with vertical command-style leadership."

How would President Yoon Suk-yeol and Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, be evaluated based on these criteria? Park said, "Both are doing poorly in terms of embracing diversity and demonstrating flexibility," and added, "(In this year's general election) the winner will be the one who can first implement these two values."

Former Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun, co-author of 'Semiconductor Sovereignty Nation.' Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

Regarding the general election outlook, Park predicted, "It seems difficult for either the Democratic Party or the People Power Party to secure a majority of seats." When asked why she predicted a strong performance by a third party, she explained, "Although the emergence of a third party has not yet taken root in the hearts of the people, if they perform well, I believe they can act as a catalyst to advance politics."

However, she also expressed hope for the victory of her affiliated party, the Democratic Party. She said, "According to polls, only Gyeonggi Province in the metropolitan area looks good, while Seoul remains unstable," adding, "Therefore, I think the Democratic Party really needs to get its act together and take the lead on future agendas." As an agenda for the Democratic Party to take the lead on, Park advised, "Semiconductors and related fields should become the Democratic Party's agenda."

Regarding the third zone, which has recently become a hot topic in the political sphere, she advised, "You have to empty your mind," and added, "The one who empties their mind will win." When asked for further explanation, she added, "You must not be greedy or calculating."

Park plans to return to Harvard University in the United States at the end of January without running in the general election. Regarding her future plans, she said, "I plan to return to Korea and lecture at Sogang University while helping startups and others." She said, "Rather than engaging in exhausting debates in politics as is happening now, I think the way to contribute to the country is to promote the path toward becoming a semiconductor sovereign nation and to contribute to that effort."

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