Kim Jong-in Completely Changes Party in a Week... Some Point to 'Weakened Fighting Power'

Kim Jong-in, Emergency Committee Chairman of the United Future Party, is attending the Emergency Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 8th and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy reporters Lee Ji-eun and Lim Chun-han] Kim Jong-in, emergency committee chairman of the United Future Party, is leading significant changes by taking the lead on the basic income agenda just one week after the emergency committee's launch and preparing to launch the Economic Innovation Committee. Within the party, the atmosphere is largely one of "let's wait and see," but some voices criticize that "the party's fighting power against the ruling party has weakened."

According to the United Future Party on the 8th, the Economic Innovation Committee, which will support the emergency committee's economic policies, is expected to officially begin activities as early as this week. Yoon Hee-sook, a first-term lawmaker from the metropolitan area, and Yoo Kyung-joon are reportedly strong candidates to lead the Economic Innovation Committee. Yoon is a former professor at the Korea Development Institute (KDI) Graduate School of International Policy, and Yoo is a former commissioner of the Statistics Korea.

The Economic Innovation Committee will be responsible for reviewing the basic income agenda proposed by Chairman Kim and plans to divide into subcommittees such as welfare, economy, and information industry to recruit experts and take the lead on related policy agendas. On the 4th, Chairman Kim also expressed his determination to reinvent the party as a policy-oriented party by mentioning fresh agendas such as expanding employment insurance, improving treatment of platform workers, establishing a Data Agency, K-healthcare, and reshoring in line with the "post-COVID" era.

Chairman Kim's actions over the past week, including shedding the "right-wing color," mentioning basic income, and criticizing Samsung's no-union policy, align with this context. Instead of "opposing for the sake of opposition," he intends to present alternatives. In response, study groups for innovation, such as "Chosimmanri" and "Conservative," are emerging mainly among first-term lawmakers within the party. As the United Future Party takes the lead by adopting progressive agendas, ruling party presidential candidates such as Lee Nak-yeon of the Democratic Party, Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung, and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon have quickly joined the basic income agenda discussions one by one.

The United Future Party's atmosphere toward Chairman Kim's efforts to remove conservative colors amid claims of "disliking conservatism" is largely "let's wait and see." Hong Joon-pyo, former leader of the Liberty Korea Party who criticized Chairman Kim as the "left-wing second squad," also took a progressive stance on Facebook, saying, "If pursuing national interests, left-wing bills can also be proposed. This is not a competition for party leadership with Chairman Kim."

However, some criticism has emerged that "the fighting power has weakened." On the same day, lawmaker Jang Je-won raised his voice, saying, "Since Chairman Kim came in, the party's fighting power against the ruling party has significantly weakened," and added, "Despite countless blunders, arbitrary actions, and self-righteousness by the Democratic Party, the emergency committee chairman, who is equivalent to the party leader, has not uttered a single criticism." Seemingly aware of such criticism, Chairman Kim pointed out the government's response to Kim Yo-jong, the first deputy director of the Workers' Party, during the emergency committee meeting that morning, saying, "It is puzzling that our government is not responding properly to the North in a dignified manner."