[Minbohyeop Election] Park Kyunghoon "Minbohyeop will speak up and act... Strengthening the training of staff talents"

Interview with Minbohyeop Presidential Candidate No. 3, Secretary Park Kyunghoon
"Minbohyeop Must Change Now... Speak Out When Needed"
"Lack of Talent Development System... Establishment of Aide Training Programs"

The Democratic Party Staff Association (Minbohyeop), which did not hesitate to speak harshly for internal reform by saying "We will speak our minds," will elect its 32nd president on the 7th. Minbohyeop issued a critical statement against the Democratic Party's lack of reflection immediately after the presidential election defeat in March, and also brought to light and publicized the sexual harassment remarks by Representative Choi Kang-wook and the sexual misconduct case involving Representative Park Wan-joo. Amid self-reflection on "How did it come to this?" the members of Minbohyeop have become opposition party staff this year after being ruling party staff, marking a turning point to face changes accordingly. The candidates for the next Minbohyeop presidency commonly emphasized strengthening the role of opposition party staff and reestablishing their status. They also showed differences in methodology regarding raising sexual misconduct issues. Through interviews with the three candidates running in this election, we heard about the future of the next Minbohyeop.

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] "I came out to show that even secretary-level staff can run for the Minbohyeop president election. I have been visiting offices and meeting one by one, and what they commonly hope for is a 'changed Minbohyeop.' Although I am the only secretary among the three candidates, I will do my best to lead the change in Minbohyeop."

Park Kyung-hoon, candidate for the 32nd Minbohyeop president election, said this during an interview held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 4th, adding, "I want to show an active Minbohyeop."

Candidate Park served as vice president of the 30th and 31st Minbohyeop, so he is more familiar with the association's affairs than anyone else. He has many ambitions as much as he expects changes in Minbohyeop. He has many pledges he wants to achieve during his term, such as a notice system for staff dismissal, staff training programs, establishment of a dedicated team for sexual misconduct reporting, and raising the pay grade of executive secretaries. He is also exploring ways to change the term from the current one year to two years to allow re-election. As the only secretary candidate, he emphasized strengthening the status of secretaries and especially proposed the "Intern Secretary Responsibility Act" as his top pledge.

Below is a Q&A.

- What motivated you to run?

Until now, only chiefs of staff have run. However, there is no rule in the bylaws that secretary-level staff cannot run. I strongly thought that a new person should run Minbohyeop this time. There are also issues of power abuse within staff, and I hope those parts can be corrected.

- What is your unique strength?

I have served twice as vice president of Minbohyeop. I believe I know Minbohyeop better than other candidates.

- How do you evaluate the past Minbohyeop?

During the process of raising sexual misconduct issues, some said Minbohyeop went too far. But I think we spoke our minds. The reason we couldn't act before was due to the special relationship between members of the National Assembly and their staff. Even now, many staff want to speak up but cannot even show it. I think it is necessary to create an anonymous bulletin board box in front of the Minbohyeop office so that issues can be raised more freely.

- Could you introduce your main pledge?

I plan to prioritize implementing the Intern Secretary Responsibility Act. Intern secretaries find it difficult to build their own portfolios. They only manage social media, write congratulatory messages, and press releases in the offices, so it is hard to gain experience. If we request and create three responsibility acts, they can build their own portfolios. It is difficult to establish a talent development system with the current method. The Youth Committee, University Committee, and Minbohyeop will jointly host and propose staff training programs.

I will also establish a dedicated team for sexual misconduct reporting. It will be connected to the central party so that ethical judges or disciplinary actions can be taken.

All candidates have many pledges, but realistically, it is difficult to fulfill even half of them. I will work to change the Minbohyeop president's term from the current one year to two years.