[Yeouido Interview] The Key Contributor to Saving SMEs: 'Delivery Price Linkage System'

Interview with Kim Jeong-jae, Ruling Party Secretary of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, People Power Party
"Cargo Solidarity causes 4 trillion won loss to national economy... Sunset extension of Safe Freight Rate System is inappropriate
Pohang, Battery Regulation-Free Special Zone, optimal site for Tesla factory"

Room 914, Yeouido Members' Office Building, Yeongdeungpo, Seoul. On one side of the office of Kim Jeong-jae, a member of the People Power Party, a blackboard is filled with local issues such as practical compensation for earthquake damage, Yeongilman Bridge (marked with three stars for small and medium enterprise damage support), and the establishment of the SRT line. Kim is considered one of the busiest lawmakers in the ruling party. As the longest-serving female lawmaker in the National Assembly, she serves as the secretary of the popular Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee and recently took on the role of chairperson of the Central Women's Committee. She is also active as the general secretary of the party study group 'People's Sympathy' (overseen by lawmaker Lee Cheol-gyu).

Kim Jeong-jae, a member of the People Power Party, is being interviewed at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 14th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

In a recent interview with Asia Economy, Kim said, "I have never forgotten my original intention as a lawmaker to create a fair world," adding, "In the remaining one year and six months, I will be a politician who creates new hope and a worker who repays with results." Among her activities in the 21st National Assembly, she cited the passage of the delivery price linkage system, which reflects changes in raw material prices in subcontract contracts in the National Assembly plenary session earlier this month, as her greatest achievement. She also emphasized that her constituency, Pohang, is the optimal location for attracting Tesla's electric vehicle factory in the United States.

There was a significant difference in positions between the ruling and opposition parties regarding the Safe Freight Rate System. The opposition party unilaterally passed a three-year sunset extension at the plenary session. What is the current status?

The position is to reconsider from the starting point. Not only the Cargo Solidarity but also cargo owners, transport operators, vehicle owners, and the government want to do this together. Other stakeholders also want to listen and review the entire system together. Regarding the three-year extension of the Safe Freight Rate System, which is set to expire this year, the national economy suffered a loss of 4 trillion won, so it is not right to extend it as if nothing happened. Also, because the permit system has been implemented, others have not been able to enter until now. The permit system was introduced along with the work commencement order, created during former President Roh Moo-hyun's administration, to prevent logistics strikes caused by collective actions. We need to start from the registration system and have an open and frank discussion about whether this is appropriate for today's society. We cannot leave Korea's logistics business, which is like an artery, in such an unstable state.

You serve as the secretary of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee. What are your main focuses?

I plan to review housing policies. I also intend to pay attention to regulatory innovation in future mobility businesses such as autonomous vehicles, urban air mobility, and drones, which are gaining attention as future growth engines. Additionally, as a secretary, I have the responsibility to negotiate within the ruling and opposition parties to ensure the smooth progress of the standing committee. I think I must perform that role well. I also need to coordinate so that lawmakers can perform their legislative activities as best as possible. Although the opposition secretary and I belong to different parties and have very different positions, we negotiate to fully understand each other. However, since the budget bill has not been resolved, negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties are difficult. There has never been a case in constitutional history where the budget bill was passed as a revised bill, so such intimidation is unacceptable. At the very least, the Yoon Seok-yeol administration should be allowed to work. Once the budget bill is passed and the issue of the national audit is resolved, I think we can start discussing bills at the committee level from January.

Kim Jeong-jae, a member of the People Power Party, is being interviewed at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 14th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyeong aymsdream@

Among the bills you have proposed, which passed bill do you remember most?

The delivery price linkage system is the most gratifying. Amid a complex economic crisis of high inflation, high interest rates, and low growth, it is even harder for small and medium enterprises to operate. If raw material prices surge or plummet, it is only natural to include such changes in the contract. If the system does not settle, this culture must be created by law. Also, while serving as the secretary of the Women and Family Committee, I participated as the chairperson of the People Power Party's Special Committee on Sexual Violence Measures and as a member of the Special Committee on Military Sexual Crime Truth Investigation and Recurrence Prevention, proposing many related bills on power-related sexual crimes and stalking crimes.

What recent bills have you proposed?

In October, I took the lead in proposing a partial amendment to the Framework Act on Disaster and Safety Management, which I would like to introduce. The main point is to update the standards for disaster damage assessment in the era of climate change. Abnormal weather such as typhoons, heavy rains, and heatwaves occurs frequently, and it is impossible to prevent all disasters by simple prevention alone. More systematic support is needed, and this amendment aims to strengthen support by including damages to agriculture, fisheries, forestry, salt production, distribution, small business owners, and small and medium enterprise facilities in the damage amount when declaring a special disaster area. In the past, these groups were excluded from the calculation of damage amounts and thus from special disaster area designation and national subsidies, even if actual damage occurred.

It is said that you are working hard to establish a Tesla factory in Pohang. Are there any concrete achievements?

We will do our best to attract Tesla's Gigafactory. Recently, during a video conference between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and President Yoon Seok-yeol, Musk stated that "Korea is being considered as the top investment candidate in Asia," and accordingly, the government, Gyeongbuk Province, and Pohang City are forming a team to enter the competition. Pohang is building a biotechnology industry infrastructure and has world-class facilities, personnel, and equipment. Also, Pohang is growing as a global special zone for battery regulation-free zones, commercializing secondary battery materials and battery resource circulation. Nearby, Gyeongju has well-established automobile parts industries, and there is also a factory in Ulsan. Additionally, Pohang has a port, so I believe Pohang is the optimal location.