The United Future Party to Announce Top 10 Policies Next Week... Likely to Include Abolition of Civil Affairs and Personnel Chiefs

Kim Byung-min "Term Limit of 4 Consecutive Terms for Lawmakers Should Be Weighed for Pros and Cons... Further Discussion Planned"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The United Future Party plans to include the abolition of the Blue House's Office of Civil Affairs and the Office of Personnel Affairs as one of its top 10 policies. As a political reform task, it is also considering limiting National Assembly members to four consecutive terms in a single constituency.

Kim Byung-min, special committee chairman for party platform and policy revision and a member of the United Future Party's Emergency Response Committee, said in a phone interview on the 4th, "We plan to finalize the framework of the top 10 policies through a marathon meeting on the 10th, then report to the Emergency Response Committee chairman and the committee, and publicly announce them around the 13th."

The special committee announced a new party platform last month on the 20th, emphasizing distribution alongside growth and the spirit of democratization alongside industrialization. The top 10 policies are a task to include specific policy directions based on the new platform created by the special committee. Currently, discussions are underway divided into 10 areas: government, politics, judicial reform; opportunity and fairness; economic innovation; coexistence; gender equality; environment; and others.

Regarding the inclusion of abolishing the Office of Civil Affairs and the Office of Personnel Affairs in the top 10 policies, Chairman Kim stated that a considerable consensus has been reached. The abolition of the Office of Civil Affairs aims to disperse the power of the imperial presidency and guarantee the independence of investigative agencies.

Chairman Kim said, "Our idea of prosecutorial reform is to guarantee independence so that it is not influenced by those in power and to ensure that the law is applied fairly for those who are disadvantaged. Although the current government talks about prosecutorial reform, the result has been a vicious cycle where the prosecution and judicial agencies, which are quasi-judicial bodies, are not made independent from power but rather controlled within the framework of power."

He added, "The Moon administration should have done this while in power, but after seizing power, it is not easy for any party under the current presidential system to resist such temptations. That is why we intend to explicitly include this aspect in the party platform and policies."

The abolition of the Office of Personnel Affairs is intended to block parachute appointments and patronage personnel. Chairman Kim criticized, "Although the Prime Minister has the authority to recommend appointments for each minister, personnel screening is actually conducted by the Blue House's Office of Personnel Affairs. This authority held by the president creates a structure where, when any party comes to power, so-called spoils appointments are rampant, which impoverishes the national system of the Republic of Korea."

He said, "We believe it is right to abolish the Office of Personnel Affairs in the Blue House and transfer its authority to the Prime Minister's Office. The Prime Minister should have strengthened practical authority as the responsible prime minister."

In addition, the special committee is also considering limiting National Assembly members to four consecutive terms as a political reform task. The idea is that a member who has been elected three times consecutively in the same constituency would not be allowed to run for a fourth term in that constituency, aiming to nurture new politicians. However, Chairman Kim said that discussions have not yet been deeply conducted. He stated, "It is not at an advanced stage; some members have proposed it as an idea. While some special committee members do not insist on 'we must do it this way,' we will carefully consider the pros, cons, and side effects. We will continue discussions until the last moment."