[Interview] Jung Woo-taek: "President Yoon Will Become a Hero if He Succeeds in Three Major Reforms"

Jung Woo-taek, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Interview
"Politics Only for the People, Need to Consider Party Leader System"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] "The most important thing is that lawmakers must become what is literally 'politics that only looks at the people' when they are elected. In that sense, a fundamental review should be conducted on whether the current party leader system should be maintained."

Unreserved answers poured out. On the 26th at the National Assembly Vice Speaker's Office 311 in Yeouido, Seoul, Vice Speaker Jeong Woo-taek showed deep insight on every major political issue. His experience, honed from starting as an economic official to serving as Governor of Chungbuk Province and a five-term National Assembly member, was evident. Jeong, a member of the People Power Party, said, "There is a strong aversion to the party leader becoming the cause of political strife and conflict, and to the behavior where the party leader's influence actually affects candidate nominations. I hope a fundamental review is conducted on whether the party leader is truly necessary."

He emphasized that a unified party leader should be elected at the People Power Party convention on March 8 next year. He said, "The party leader elected this time must be a figure who will lead the party to victory in the general election scheduled for the year after next as the party's banner," adding, "Currently, there are many unseen factional tendencies within the party, so it would be good if the candidate can reconcile conflicts among party members with factional characteristics."

Regarding the three major reforms (labor, pension, education) promoted by President Yoon Seok-yeol, which can no longer be delayed, he promised active support at the National Assembly level. Vice Speaker Jeong said, "If President Yoon achieves reforms on these three agendas from a reformist perspective, looking toward the future, he will become an enormously heroic president, I dare to predict," adding, "It is not easy, but since the president is pushing forward with determination, I have high expectations."

Jung Woo-taek, Vice Speaker of the National Assembly. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

He also expressed regret over the process of passing the budget bill, which earned the notorious label of the "worst budget National Assembly." He said, "It is regrettable that the Democratic Party of Korea is viewing the corporate tax cut negatively by repeatedly emphasizing the difference between the rich and others through so-called 'divide and rule' tactics," citing the 1% corporate tax cut and the so-called 'K-Chips Act,' which provides semiconductor tax credits, as the most disappointing points. He said, "This could cause significant disruption to the semiconductor industry. Although I reluctantly supported the budget bill because the rejection of the subsidiary bills would put the brakes on the budget, I personally oppose the tax credit part."

Below is a Q&A session.

Impressions two months after being elected National Assembly Vice Speaker

It was a time when I once again felt the heavy responsibility to lead coexistence and cooperation amid the stark confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties. The National Assembly is a hall of public opinion where dialogue and communication must take place, so both ruling and opposition parties must walk the path of coexistence through dialogue and communication. If we waste time on political strife and conflict while ignoring the people's livelihood, which is suffering from triple hardships of high inflation, high interest rates, and high exchange rates, the people will no longer forgive us. In a situation where the opposition holds the majority, it is difficult to pass even a single bill without communication with the opposition. The ruling party must maintain a sincere attitude of communication and cooperation with the Democratic Party, not just showy talks, to overcome the current difficulties. Politicians should worry about the people, not the other way around, and for that, the National Assembly must gain trust from the people by showing efforts to solve the livelihood problems in crisis through bipartisan cooperation. Lawmakers themselves must carry out legislative activities for the people.

What caused this year's National Assembly budget bill to be passed with the longest delay?

The biggest cause was the Democratic Party's 'refusal to accept the presidential election results' and 'shielding of leader Lee Jae-myung,' which dominated the National Assembly with majority power. First, I cannot help but feel regret at their focus on political strife without caring for people's livelihood. The two most regrettable points are as follows. I proposed a bill to reduce corporate tax by 3 percentage points and simplify the current four tax brackets into three, and had high expectations. However, the Democratic Party is negatively viewing the corporate tax cut by repeatedly emphasizing the difference between the rich and others through so-called 'divide and rule' tactics. Corporate tax is not only a problem for corporations but also benefits shareholders and workers. The 1 percentage point reduction is just a drop in the bucket, which is disappointing.

Secondly, it is no exaggeration to say that semiconductors sustain the economy. While other countries provide a 25% tax credit for advanced industries, only an 8% tax credit was passed this time. This could cause significant disruption to the semiconductor industry. Although I reluctantly supported the budget bill because the rejection of subsidiary bills would put the brakes on the budget, I personally oppose the tax credit part.

Jung Woo-taek, Vice Speaker of the National Assembly. / Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Conflicts in the National Assembly seem much worse than before. What is your view?

One reason why ideological confrontation is sharper and more extreme than ever is the political strife to win the next administration. Politics no longer respects opponents and treats those with differing opinions as enemies, showing overly aggressive behavior. Despite worsening livelihood and economy, the National Assembly is failing to perform its functions and roles, and conflicts and political strife cannot be resolved through dialogue and compromise. Political leaders of both parties need to seek new political systems and environments to overcome this political deadlock.

In the 20th National Assembly, senior lawmakers gathered opinions that "this cannot continue" and pushed for a decentralized presidential system, but it was aborted by the Democratic Party and those suffering from presidential syndrome. Institutional improvements accompanied by constitutional amendments from a long-term perspective, such as a decentralized presidential system, are necessary. I have also proposed a senior lawmakers' council system, and when discussions continue, a multi-party system should be considered. However, seeing the Progressive Party oppose every subsidiary bill during this budget process, I have doubts whether the National Assembly will become even more difficult. The idea of a multi-party system is an institutional measure to alleviate the minority ruling situation from both individual lawmakers' changes and institutional aspects.

But the most important thing is that lawmakers must become politics that literally only look at the people when elected. In that sense, the party leader system should be abolished. There is strong aversion to the party leader becoming the cause of political strife and conflict, and to the behavior where the party leader's influence actually affects candidate nominations. I hope a fundamental review is conducted on whether the party leader is truly necessary.

The date for the People Power Party convention has already been set. What kind of party leader is needed?

There are two conditions. The party leader elected this time must be a figure who will lead the party to victory in the general election scheduled for the year after next as the party's banner. Also, since there are many unseen factional tendencies within the party, it would be good if the candidate can reconcile conflicts among party members with factional characteristics.

Isn't candidate nomination important for winning the general election?

In 2016 (the 20th general election), during President Park Geun-hye's administration, the opposition was split into two, making the election landscape very favorable to the ruling party. Then-party leader Kim Moo-sung talked about winning 180 seats, but in the end, due to just one seat, the opposition leader Jeong Se-gyun became the National Assembly Speaker. Taking this as a lesson, in 2020 (the 21st general election), we expected proper candidate nominations, but failed to nominate candidates that would lead to success. Such failed nominations have caused absolute obstacles to our party's development and seat acquisition. Whether our party becomes the first party in the 22nd general election the year after next will determine the success of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration. Candidate nominations influenced by the leader's personal interests must be firmly rejected. Secondly, candidates who are desired by local residents and have a high chance of winning should be nominated.

Among President Yoon Seok-yeol's three major reforms, which is the most urgent?

None of the three can be delayed. Pension reform has been a major issue in the past, but previous administrations buried it due to concerns about approval ratings and difficulties, passing the baton to the Yoon administration. President Yoon has expressed his determination from the early days of his administration not to avoid this and to fully resolve it, and it seems he will actually implement it. I believe that if the current generation does not do what it must regarding pension reform, it will be a sin against future generations.

Education reform is also a difficult issue, but I have doubts whether the current education system can properly lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution. If the isolationist policy of Daewon-gun was a factor that caused Japan to fall behind, now, 100 years later, the future depends on taking the lead in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We must nurture talent through education for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, but I question whether our education system can currently do so. New education reforms suitable for future generations must be implemented, but there is much resistance now.

Also, when meeting business people, the most common complaint is that labor unions make it difficult to operate companies. Under current law, labor unions are required to conduct accounting audits and submit audit materials when requested by administrative authorities, but this regulation has effectively become obsolete. Audits are conducted not by external auditors but by internally recommended ones, making it difficult to trust fairness, and there have been continuous criticisms that this limits prevention of labor union accounting fraud. In fact, in April, a former head of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions branch was sentenced to prison for embezzling about 370 million won in union dues, and in June, an executive of the Korean Federation of Construction Industry Unions was arrested and indicted for embezzling about 1 billion won. Due to the lack of neutral external participation causing transparency issues, I have introduced the 'Labor Union Finance Transparency Act' (an amendment to the Labor Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act) as a representative bill.

If President Yoon achieves reforms on these three agendas from a reformist perspective, looking toward the future, he will become an enormously heroic president, I dare to predict. It is not easy, but since he is pushing forward with determination, I have high expectations.