Park Hong-geun: "Yoon Should Dismiss and Seat Kim Moon-soo in the Position Leading National Unity"

Democratic Party "Human Rights Regression Under Yoon Government... Kim Moon-soo Must Resign"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Park Hong-geun, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the National Assembly inspection countermeasure meeting held at the National Assembly on the 11th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The Democratic Party of Korea is considering filing a complaint with the prosecution against Kim Moon-soo, chairman of the Economic, Social and Labor Council, who has been involved in a series of controversies. At the same time, they urged President Yoon Seok-yeol to dismiss Chairman Kim.

Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party, said at the Supreme Council meeting on the 14th, "I cannot remain silent in the face of unprecedentedly extreme remarks," adding, "Chairman Kim should resign immediately, and President Yoon should dismiss him at once if he does not step down voluntarily." He continued, "The chairman of the Economic, Social and Labor Council holds a crucial position to resolve conflicts between labor and management through social dialogue and to lead national unity," and criticized, "It is like appointing a professional slanderer, no different from an extreme right-wing YouTuber, to a ministerial-level post." Floor leader Park also criticized, "This appointment clearly reveals President Yoon's hostile philosophy toward social grand compromise."

Chairman Kim made a series of remarks at the National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee hearing on the 12th, such as "Those young people are holding a death ritual like the Sewol ferry disaster, step down," "The special remedy for illegal strikes is damage compensation bombs," "The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions is like Kim Jong-un's cheer squad," and "President Moon Jae-in is someone who greatly respects Kim Il-sung's ideology," which led to his removal from the session. The next day, on the 13th, he appeared on a radio show and, when asked about his 2019 remark at a Liberty Korea Party-hosted debate that "Moon Jae-in deserves to be shot," he responded, "I still think so," escalating the controversy.

Im Oh-kyung, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, told reporters immediately after the Supreme Council meeting, "We are considering filing complaints for insult and perjury in the National Assembly."

However, President Yoon clearly stated that he has no intention of dismissing Chairman Kim, saying, "He was appointed because he knows the labor field well." He emphasized that Chairman Kim's appointment was not based on political alignment, which is interpreted as a rebuttal to the opposition party's criticism of the appointment as a "personnel disaster." President Yoon added, "He actually worked in our labor field in the late 1970s and 1980s, so regardless of political alignment, he has networks with many labor activists and knows the field well."