Kim Yong-min: "I am not a person closely related to Cho Kuk... Receiving only one appointment letter is all"

Reason Joo Gwang-deok Ran for District: "Wanted to Face Off Against Anti-Prosecution Reform Candidate"
On 'Jokuk Kids Theory': "It's a Frame to Shake Centrist Voters"

Lawyer Kim Yong-min (right) and Lawyer Kim Nam-guk are holding a press conference for joining the Democratic Party of Korea at the National Assembly on the 7th. Lawyer Kim Yong-min served as a member of the 2nd Legal and Prosecutorial Reform Committee during former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk's tenure, and Lawyer Kim Nam-guk participated as a writer in the 'Cho Kuk White Paper Promotion Committee.' Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Lawyer Kim Yong-min drew a clear line, stating that he is "(not) a person with close ties or connections to former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk." As the Democratic Party of Korea decided to strategically nominate Lawyer Kim for the Gyeonggi Namyangju Byeong district, which is the constituency of Joo Kwang-deok, a member of the Future United Party known as a 'Cho Kuk sniper,' some have speculated that the 'Cho Kuk incident' might be reenacted in this general election.

On the morning of the 19th, Lawyer Kim appeared on CBS Radio and, when asked about his reason for deciding to run in Gyeonggi Namyangju Byeong, he said, "I conveyed to the leadership my intention to have a direct confrontation with an anti-prosecutorial reform candidate." He added, "So, after looking into it, I thought that by having a direct contest with the opposing candidate in Namyangju Byeong, I could receive an interim evaluation on prosecutorial reform, and furthermore, I wanted to gauge the public's expectations and aspirations regarding prosecutorial reform."

However, Lawyer Kim drew a line regarding the assessment that he is a 'pro-Cho Kuk figure.' When asked if he is also called a 'Cho Kuk kid,' he said, "Some media outlets call me a Cho Kuk faction male, but although I worked hard in committee activities, I have never once connected myself to former Minister Cho," and added, "I am not a person with such close ties or connections to former Minister Cho." He further emphasized, "The only connection I had with Minister Cho was receiving one appointment letter from the Prosecutorial Reform Committee, and that is all," and said, "This is rather an intention to steer the election in the wrong direction."

Lawyer Kim said, "I strongly feel that the opposing side, politically the opposition party, or some media outlets, are trying to continuously define me within such a frame," and pointed out, "It is a strategy to shake the votes of the moderate voters through a kind of framing."

He explained, "When Representative Joo worked as a Blue House secretary, my name was on the lawyer blacklist created by the Blue House Civil Affairs Office in 2014, and in a way, it might be meaningful that I am now facing off against the opponent who, at the regime level, oppressed me or created a blacklist." Lawyer Kim was active as a lawyer for the Sewol ferry disaster victims at that time.

Regarding the reason why the Democratic Party selected Namyangju Byeong as one of the first strategic nomination districts along with Jongno, where former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon plans to run, he said, "It seems they evaluated it as a district where an interim evaluation of prosecutorial reform can be received." On the judicial reform being promoted by Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae, he said, "Personally, I want to evaluate that she is doing well," and added, "Efforts and attitudes to persuade will be necessary."

Lawyer Kim explained his reason for entering politics, saying, "I decided to enter because I want to actually enter the National Assembly and complete prosecutorial reform from a position with authority." He also said, "Since the Moon Jae-in administration, I have continuously participated in committees related to prosecutorial reform, but I felt a lot of frustration working as a mere lawyer in committees without authority."