[Interview with Yeo Floor Leader Candidate - Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon] "Former Policy Committee Chair, the Best Fit for Party-Government Communication"

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Kim Tae-nyeon, a member of the Democratic Party running for the floor leader candidate, emphasized his experience as the chairman of the party's Policy Committee and pledged to create a working National Assembly. He identified 'innovative economy' as the top priority for the 21st National Assembly.

In an interview with Asia Economy on the 5th, Kim said, "Among the three floor leader candidates, I am the only one who has experience handling contentious bills and creating compromises as the chairman of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee," adding, "I will make the National Assembly a working one." Kim also represented the party at the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee, which was equivalent to the Moon Jae-in administration's transition committee, where he was responsible for designing national tasks and their initial implementation.

To create a working National Assembly, Kim pledged ▲ institutionalizing a year-round standing National Assembly ▲ abolishing the Judiciary Committee’s authority to review the system and wording of bills. Kim emphasized, "There should be no cases where bills from other standing committees are unreasonably held up in the Judiciary Committee for a long time under the pretext of system and wording review," and added, "I will abolish the system and wording review function to prevent the Judiciary Committee’s overreach." He also stressed, "The 90-day regular session and the 30-day extraordinary sessions in even months stemmed from the military regime that avoided convening the National Assembly," and said, "I will immediately introduce a standing National Assembly system."

He also emphasized smooth party-government relations. He said, "We have normalized the party-government-Cheongwadae system, which had collapsed under previous administrations, by regularizing high-level party-government-Cheongwadae meetings and standing committee party-government consultations," and added, "Having worked closely with the government and Cheongwadae, I believe I am the best candidate for communication between the party and the Blue House."

He emphasized 'innovative economy' as the top priority for the 21st National Assembly. He said, "The Fourth Industrial Revolution brought changes to industry and the economy, and COVID-19 has accelerated this," stressing, "We must prepare for the era of innovation." He added, "In this process, some industries and companies will benefit from the changes, while others will face difficulties," and said, "A social grand compromise is needed to share profits and bear pains together. I will bring about such a social grand compromise."

Kim also proposed pledges such as priority committee assignments for first-term lawmakers and a floor pledge implementation team targeting first-term lawmakers. He said, "I too was once a passionate first-term lawmaker," and emphasized, "I will prioritize committee assignments for first-term lawmakers considering their expertise and help them utilize their specialties in each field."

Regarding the possibility of constitutional amendment recently raised within the ruling party, he was cautious, saying, "Now is not the time to push for constitutional amendment." He said, "Since all efforts should be focused on overcoming COVID-19 and the economic crisis, it is not desirable for the political sphere to engage in political strife over constitutional amendment debates."

Regarding factional conflicts within the party, which have been raised since the party became a giant with 180 seats, he said, "The situation is different from the time of the Uri Party," adding, "The Uri Party had 108 first-term lawmakers out of 152 seats, which was two-thirds, but the 21st National Assembly Democratic Party has 68 first-term lawmakers out of 163 members, less than half, and the first-term, second-term, and senior lawmakers form a stable pyramid structure." He continued, "My strength is leadership for unity," and said, "I will communicate evenly and comfortably with various opinion groups without leaning toward any specific group."

Regarding relations with the United Future Party, he said, "The Democratic New Party for the 18th National Assembly had only 81 seats. The United Future Party’s 103 seats is by no means a small number," and added, "I will respect them as partners in national governance and serve them sincerely."