[Yeouido Interview] A Lawmaker Who Fell for Webtoons

Interview with Yook Kyung-joon, People Power Party Lawmaker
"Rewarding Success of Gangnam Reconstruction"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] On the bookshelf in the office of Yook Kyung-jun, a member of the People Power Party, are books such as "What Is Justice?" and "Everything About Taxes." Yook, who enjoys "speculative reading," focused on worlds beyond experience. However, he honestly admitted that since entering Yeouido, it has not been easy to find time to read books due to the accumulation of pressing issues that need to be resolved. Recently, he mainly reads light books to clear his mind. Another hobby of his is reading webtoons. He has been keeping up with the newly resumed serialization of the webtoon "The Uncanny Counter," which was also adapted into a drama.

Yook, who served as the Commissioner of Statistics Korea during the Park Geun-hye administration, is well known for fighting against the Moon Jae-in administration’s income-led growth policy and statistical distortions. Earlier this year, he proposed the so-called "Statistics Manipulation Prevention Act" (amendments to the Government Organization Act and the Statistics Act) to guarantee the neutrality and independence of Statistics Korea.

In the 21st general election, he achieved a 65.38% vote share, the highest among the elected members of the National Assembly from 49 constituencies in Seoul.

Yoo Kyung-joon, member of the People Power Party. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Since Yook’s constituency is Gangnam-gu, Seoul, real estate issues such as reconstruction and redevelopment piled up. He cited completing the reconstruction and redevelopment projects for 11,780 households, which had been stalled during the Moon Jae-in administration, as his greatest accomplishment. He said, "Solving residents’ difficulties one by one is my joy (樂)."

Until 2020, when the 21st National Assembly began, the mayor of Gangnam-gu was from the Democratic Party. At that time, Yook said it was difficult to obtain cooperation from the Seoul Metropolitan Government. He added, "For example, last year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Rapid Integrated Planning (Shintong Planning) for Daechi Mido Apartments was finalized, and after 19 years since the establishment of the Eunma Apartment Promotion Committee, the reconstruction review by the Seoul Metropolitan Government passed, and on the 16th, it was designated as a maintenance zone. This is truly a cause for celebration."

Recently, the GTX-C line issue at Eunma Apartments in Gangnam-gu has become controversial. Yook stated that he is meeting with related parties to listen to their opinions and is doing his best to derive the best solution. He said, "Since the safety of residents is important, we are considering various measures."