Kim Jong-in: "An 80-Year-Old as 'General Manager'? Age Isn't Important, We Must Consider Changes in Public Sentiment"

"hesitated until the end... grandson even said, 'why do you talk like that, stop it'"

Former Emergency Response Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in, who accepted the position of General Election Committee Chairman for Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, is answering reporters' questions as he leaves the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, after meeting with candidate Yoon Seok-yeol on the 5th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seohyun] Former Emergency Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in, who accepted the position of the People Power Party's General Election Committee Chairman, sharply remarked regarding the critical public opinion surrounding his joining, saying, "Political judgment is not really about age itself."

On the morning of the 6th, Kim appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and said, "People say how can an 80-year-old person in this generation understand the changes in public sentiment, but political judgment is about whether one has the ability to properly adapt to political trends," emphasizing this point.

He added, "Some say I have an old man's greed or that I demand full authority, but what would I do if I had full authority?" He continued, "I heard so many things that my grandson said, 'Grandfather, why are you trying to do this while hearing such things? You should just quit.' That was how I felt." He then stressed, "The most important thing in an election is to understand how the public sentiment is changing."

When the host said, "You had a conviction that the election committee should proceed with one policy and direction, and seeing that this was not going well, it seems you hesitated to become the General Election Committee Chairman," Kim replied, "I thought so too. I expected there would be several ups and downs from the time the candidate was confirmed until March 9, but after nearly a month, the initial atmosphere seemed to disappear, and I noticed that general public opinion could flow in quite a different direction."

Kim stated, "What is the most urgent task facing South Korea in this era? What should be solved first? If the presidential candidate does not face this directly and adapt, they cannot lead the election to victory," and explained, "Talking theoretically about this or that with conventional concepts is meaningless."

He continued, "The election committee tends to be a noisy place where this person and that person gather, so it must operate in a properly coordinated and unified manner to work efficiently in the election," adding, "If one department says this and another says that, the election committee cannot function properly."

He said, "Currently, the election committee has a separate policy office under the secretariat and a department that oversees policy," and recalled, "During former President Park Geun-hye's election process, I experienced conflicts, so I thought there was no need to go through that again." He then revealed, "To be honest, I am not someone who particularly desires anything even if I lead the presidential election to victory."