'Unified Party Freshmen' Seo Beom-su and Hwang Bo-seung-hee Hold Joint Debate
Youth Party Members "Young Politicians Must Strengthen Horizontal Solidarity"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The United Future Party, which decided to create a youth autonomous organization within the party, has begun concrete discussions.
On the afternoon of the 7th, Seo Beom-su and Hwang Bo-seung-hee, first-term lawmakers of the party, held a forum at the National Assembly to discuss the direction and current issues of the party's youth autonomous organization, exploring ways to nurture young politicians and guarantee their opportunities for activities. The meeting was attended by party leadership including Emergency Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in, young party members, and the chairperson of the United Future Party's aides council. Stefan Jamse, head of the Korea office of the Adenauer Foundation in Germany, which serves as a benchmarking model, also delivered a keynote speech.
Chairman Kim emphasized the necessity of revitalizing youth politics in his congratulatory remarks. He said, "It is very natural for the 2040 generation, which accounts for more than 40% of our country's total population, to take the lead in politics," adding, "If the United Future Party transforms into a party by youth and for youth, Korean politics will change."
He further stated, "We must seriously listen to the voices calling for elevating the status of the youth autonomous organization by guaranteeing independent political activities for young people to prepare the next generation of Korean politics," emphasizing, "The argument that youth should be given roles within the party is part of this."
Lawmaker Seo Beom-su also said, "So far, youth politics has heavily relied on talent recruitment rather than nurturing and discovering talent," adding, "There is growing support, centered on first-term lawmakers in the National Assembly, for nominating more than 30% of youth and women to local councils. If the youth autonomous organization functions as a party within the party and nurtures and produces prepared young politicians, we can look forward not only to quota-based nominations but also to a complete generational change in Korean politics."
Lawmaker Hwang Bo-seung-hee added, "The Young Union of Germany's Christian Democratic Union, the Young Conservatives of the UK's Conservative Party, and the youth policies of the US Republican Party can serve as our models," emphasizing, "A party that grows people, provides opportunities, produces national talents, continuously delivers fierce criticism and ideas, and sensitively responds to the voices of the people should be the direction the party moves toward. Discussions and designs regarding the youth autonomous organization will be the first step toward that goal."
At the meeting, Kwak Gwan-yong, a young party member who presented a paper, emphasized the need to strengthen horizontal solidarity among young politicians above all.
He said, "For the youth autonomous organization to function as a channel representing youth and a powerful innovation force within the party, young resources within the party must be affiliated with various levels of organizations long-term to accumulate political experience and contribute to the party, thereby creating a structural environment where they can develop competitiveness themselves," adding, "Self-sustaining young politicians need to share roles for common goals and support each other organically."
As a concrete measure, he proposed reorganizing the functions of existing party youth organizations along with establishing the youth autonomous organization. Kwak said, "The youth party within the party should serve as the core of youth autonomy and function as an external policy communication platform while managing organic cooperation among each youth organization," emphasizing, "The Young Union preparatory committee and the Emergency Committee should promptly organize plans and start projects as soon as possible."
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