[Yeouido Interview] Taeyoungho Announces Candidacy for Ruling Party Supreme Councilor... "Supporting Yoon's Sales Diplomacy"

"Foreign Policy Experts Must Join Leadership and Speak Out"
Goal to Quantify Activities of Elected Party Officials
First Taeip Law Bill Eases Comprehensive Real Estate Tax for Single-Homeowners

"In this difficult economic situation, for our country to even catch a breath, the party must actively support President Yoon Seok-yeol's 'sales diplomacy.' Then, shouldn't a single person experienced in diplomacy and North Korea affairs join the leadership to raise their voice and prioritize foreign policy? So far, various leadership teams have been formed, but no expert in diplomacy or North Korea affairs has been included, and the party has always had to focus solely on domestic politics."

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] On the 16th, Tae Young-ho, a member of the People Power Party, stated in an interview with Asia Economy that he would run for the Supreme Council member election at the March 8 party convention.

Rep. Tae elaborated, "I was thinking about how I could contribute to the party to win the 2024 general election, and I believed that through becoming a party that upholds diplomacy and a proper national and security perspective in addition to the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's three major reforms, the People Power Party could become the majority party."

Born in 1962 in Pyongyang, Rep. Tae graduated from Pyongyang University of International Relations and worked as a diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He defected with his family while serving as the charg? d'affaires at the North Korean embassy in the UK. Entering the 21st National Assembly for the first time, Rep. Tae is actively engaged in legislative activities and diligently addresses constituency issues. According to his office, he has proposed 105 bills over three years and handled a total of 452 constituency complaints, resolving all but about 20 currently in process. Serving as the party's international committee chairman and secretary of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, Rep. Tae is now preparing to join the party leadership. The following is a Q&A with Rep. Tae.

Why are you running for Supreme Council member?

Although President Yoon Seok-yeol was elected with the 2022 presidential victory and his administration was established, the National Assembly is still controlled by the opposition Democratic Party. As seen in the recent budget process, the government lacks strength, and the president's three major reform tasks are not being promptly advanced. More importantly, we must be prepared to structurally and institutionally protect the peace of our people in relations with North Korea. Under the Moon Jae-in administration, submissive North Korea policies were pursued, and legislatively, the peace maintenance and management tools we could use in inter-Korean relations were dismantled. I wanted to inform the public of this concrete reality and appeal that our party must become the majority to restore abnormal situations to normal through legislation. To do this, a voice in the party leadership is necessary.

The competition among party leadership candidates is fierce. What do you think?

Our party is the ruling party. All members of our party must unite for the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's policy tasks to be actively promoted. For the ruling party to succeed, we must unite and support the president's policies from the sidelines. Currently, people say we are a democratic party, but democratic discussions within the party, proposing democratic operations and policy suggestions, are different from belittling and criticizing the president. Belittling and criticizing is the role of the opposition. Democracy arises from the balance of power between the ruling and opposition parties. Being in the ruling party and playing the role of the opposition? Confusing this with democracy or freedom is wrong. In a democratic society, the distinction between ruling and opposition parties is clear.

You have worked with young people in your constituency to create bills. How do you manage your constituency?

It wasn't just me; it was part of the 'Legislative Program with Tae Young-ho (Taeip)' initiative. I invited them to the National Assembly to create bills together. At that time, the 'Nth Room' issue was significant, and we created a partial amendment to the Military Service Act to prevent incidents like the Nth Room caused by social service agents leaking personal data. Although lawmakers have legislative power, in a representative democracy system, they represent the people. I believe it is more future-oriented for young people to communicate directly with the office and create laws they want to change. The first outcome of Taeip was a bill to ease the comprehensive real estate tax for single-homeowners.

Tae Young-ho, member of the People Power Party. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

If you become a Supreme Council member, what is the first thing you want to do?

We need to quantify and datafy the activities of elected party officials. Like private companies, the party should be able to verify indicators such as 'core party activity indices.' Over the past three years, I have quantified all activities of the party chapters. If someone wants to run for city council or district council, nominations should be made through this quantification system. Although it won't be 100% perfect, if we establish a system and publish scores quarterly on the website, the public will see that lawmakers work harder and that our party truly develops and promotes policies.

What book and movie have impressed you the most?

The first South Korean movie I ever saw was Director Im Kwon-taek's Taebaek Mountains. I watched it in Denmark in 1997, and while watching it, I realized that my fascination with socialist and communist ideologies was delusional. It was the first time my heart wavered. The book I always keep in mind and consider a role model is The Gadfly by British author Ethel Lilian Voynich. Set in Italy, it tells the story of a fighter involved in anti-religious struggles. Seeing the protagonist fight steadfastly throughout his life according to his beliefs inspired me to live my life like the hero of The Gadfly.