[Yeouido Interview] Opposition Seoul City Party Chair "We Must Train 500 Solo YouTubers for Election Victory"

"We will train 500 one-person YouTubers to become dedicated 'markmen' (specialized reporters) for each candidate in next year's general election."

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 1st at the National Assembly Members' Office Building, Kim Young-ho, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "If the central party is the place where the war is fought, then the city and provincial parties are the places where battles are fought," introducing the 'YouTuber 500 training theory' modeled after Yulgok Yi I's theory of raising 100,000 soldiers. Kim, who was elected with a high overall vote of 60.47% in the Democratic Party Seoul City Committee Chairperson election last August, is known as an 'idea banker.'

Kim first won a seat in the 20th National Assembly after three attempts starting in 2004. Over the past 12 years, he has honed many policies like a truckload. In the 21st National Assembly, he served as the floor leader of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee in the first half, chief secretary of the party leader's office, and floor leader of the Education Committee in the second half. This time, he vowed that the Seoul City Committee would take the lead in winning next year's general election with a determination to win.

Until now, the Seoul City Committee was considered one of the 17 city and provincial parties supporting the central party. However, Kim emphasized the role of the Seoul City Committee with the somewhat unusual idea that "the competitor of the Seoul City Committee is the central party." Recently, the Seoul City Committee independently launched a YouTube channel called 'Democratic Party Seoul City Committee Universe' (Minseoyu) aiming for 500,000 subscribers, and formed the 'Democratic Party Seoul City Committee Network' (Minseone), a rights party member council. Allowing 2030 party members to directly create the party's foundation of 'platform and policies' is also very 'Kim Young-ho style.' I was curious about how much participation from party members, who are the party's assets, could be induced, and how this could lead to party reform, integration, and victory in the general election in Kim's mind.

Kim Young-ho, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Dong-joo Yoon doso7@

Below is a Q&A.

On January 13 this year, you launched the Seoul City Committee YouTube channel 'Minseoyu' and introduced the rights party member council 'Minseone.' What is the reason and significance of starting these activities ahead of the general election?

In the latter half, the Seoul City Committee must prepare for the April 2024 general election. When I took office as the Seoul City Committee Chairperson, I pledged to build the strongest Seoul City Committee ever. For a while, the chairperson was selected without a primary, through internal coordination among lawmakers, but this time, I was elected through a fierce primary. During this primary process, I made many pledges to Seoul City party members, the most representative being Minseoyu and Minseone. I believed strengthening communication among party members was important.

In the rights party member council 'Minseone,' two rights party members elected are allowed to directly participate in the Seoul City Committee's steering committee, enabling so-called hardcore party members called 'Gaeddal' to participate in party management. What is the significance of this?

By creating the rights party member council, the party pledged to listen to the opinions of party members centered on rights party members, and allow party members to participate as actual steering committee members to experience and empathize with party issues. This is to expand communication between the party and members by having members personally experience the party decision-making process. We are also promoting the party's first 'party member cadre system.' As of the 20th of last month, 562 people were recruited in the first round, making it the largest single committee in the central party. From February to August, members will be active, and a small election will be held to elect a president and vice president. The two elected will also participate in the Seoul City Committee steering committee (the core decision-making body). Some feared that 'Gaeddal' (hardcore supporters of Representative Lee Jae-myung, meaning 'Daughters of Reform') might take over, but the gender ratio was 62% male and 38% female, with diverse regions and age groups, so such concerns seem unfounded. Many requested a re-recruitment because they missed the announcement, so we plan to hold additional recruitment.

Recently, there was controversy over '1,000-won party members.' What are your thoughts on the role and potential of party members?

Rights party members cannot be evaluated by amounts like 1,000 or 2,000 won. I believe the management of rights party members has been very one-sided so far. There should be two-way communication, but that was lacking. Especially, the 'special nature' of online party members was overlooked. The party only listened to members' complaints and grievances through bulletin boards. With 'Minseone,' we plan to conduct both online and offline activities. Increasing direct communication seems to reduce misunderstandings. Sometimes members gather in Gwanghwamun to protest, and sometimes they unite online to fight over information and issues, but until now, online and offline members were operated almost separately. In this emergency situation, we should not separate online and offline members. We also plan to utilize educational programs for members.

Minseone will hold a YouTube academy to train hundreds of YouTubers. After seven lectures, those trained will become markmen for their favorite politicians in their constituencies and actively engage in YouTube activities during the general election. The goal is to train 500 people. The Seoul City Committee has recently focused on banner politics, and we plan to gather ideas from Minseone members. We will encourage participation by leveraging collective intelligence to create catchy ideas and the most appealing slogans for Seoul citizens.

Kim Young-ho, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

How far will party member participation be expanded?

Recently, we formed a discourse committee composed of members aged 20 to 39. We allowed 2030 party members to directly create our party's platform and policies. The day this discourse is established as our party's platform and policies, young people will lead the party proactively. I don't know what content will fill areas like diplomacy, unification, defense, and labor. I am not involved at all. When selecting young politicians, instead of making them adapt to existing policies made by the party, they should create and establish platforms from their new perspectives to become true subjects and owners of the party. Young politicians must have their own ideology and create discourse so that youth politics does not become an 'empty shell.' My dream is to manage youth politics. Young people today have much better qualifications than established politicians but lack ideology.

What determination should the Democratic Party have ahead of the 2024 general election?

After watching the movie 'Hero' last month, I thought I should become the 'An Jung-geun of Seodaemun' and protect democracy. The dignity of South Korea is deteriorating severely, which is very concerning. The only way to stop the Yoon Seok-yeol government's prosecutorial republic is for the Democratic Party to secure a majority in the general election and stop the reckless actions. Since political manipulations are being carried out more cunningly than during military regimes, our party must stay alert. Some talk about 'cooperation,' but I believe we must go head-to-head now. If the opposition is not strong, the ruling party will never cooperate. To achieve cooperation, we must advocate and realize a strong and visible opposition. To do this, we must recreate the glory of 2020 in next year's general election. We should not just watch the Yoon government’s mistakes but also reflect on our own faults. The biggest mistake was that despite having the largest-ever 180 seats, we failed to pass even one law that would have earned a standing ovation from the entire nation. I deeply regret and apologize for this. I wish we had passed strong legislation on heinous crimes such as sexual assault and molestation related to children's safety.

What is a representative bill?

Because my bill is radical, it has difficulty passing. Before Jo Doo-soon's release, I submitted a bill to impose life imprisonment on repeat offenders of child sexual crimes. I even went to the Judiciary Committee to explain the purpose personally, wanting it to pass badly, but the committee members, mostly legal professionals, opposed it saying it was 'ignorant of the legal system,' so it did not pass. However, in Europe and other advanced countries, child sexual crimes are considered more serious than murder. When I proposed a law prohibiting elected officials, including lawmakers, from receiving congratulatory or condolence money from voters in their constituencies during events, there was much opposition from lawmakers. The Democratic Party must be evaluated by proposing alternative policies to the government and ruling party to win re-election. This year, without elections, we must focus entirely on people's livelihoods. The 169 lawmakers must become one team and focus on stopping the Yoon government's reckless actions.

Is it possible within the Democratic Party amid the 'Lee Jae-myung judicial risk'?

It is often said that political parties should wipe the tears of the wronged and weak. I believe protecting wronged politicians is the same. As the prosecution summoned Representative Lee for the third time, the party's stance has changed considerably. Many voices say that since the prosecution has summoned him three times without presenting clear evidence, he must be innocent. If we believed what the prosecution leaked, we would have had to believe that former President Kim Dae-jung incited a riot during the May 18 Democratization Movement under North Korean orders. After the 'watch scandal' involving former President Roh Moo-hyun, we vowed never to be deceived again, yet similar phenomena are happening to Representative Lee now. The Seoul City Committee will act like the capital security commander.