Democratic Party Innovation Committee Holds 2030 Youth Roundtable
"Just Took the First Step... It Was Very Meaningful"
Young people in their 20s and 30s poured out harsh criticism of the Democratic Party of Korea. They criticized, saying, "The Democratic Party's youth policies are like 'traffic light chicken.'
The Democratic Party of Korea Innovation Committee held a 2030 youth roundtable on the 30th at a cafe in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, to discuss party reform measures. The youth panel, consisting of 25 members, divided into groups with the Innovation Committee and engaged in discussions, expressing various criticisms and suggestions for the Democratic Party in the form of notes on post-its.
Innovation Committee member Seo Bok-kyung said, "At our group table, there was an opinion that simply nominating many young politicians would not necessarily improve the Democratic Party," adding, "There was also a suggestion not to make youth policies one-off efforts, and we will carefully consider and reflect these points."
Innovation Committee member Park Sung-jin said, "There were many interesting stories," and "The most impressive was the opinion that the Democratic Party's policies are like 'traffic light chicken.'"
The official name of traffic light chicken is 'Fruits Chicken,' a menu first launched by a certain chicken brand in 2015 that became a hot topic. It is called traffic light chicken because it is made in different colors inspired by fruits such as strawberry-flavored chicken, melon-flavored chicken, and banana-flavored chicken. Since its launch, traffic light chicken has received harsh criticism such as "There are three types, but there's nothing worth picking." In other words, likening the Democratic Party's policies to this chicken points out that they only seek momentary popularity and do not provide real help.
On the 30th, Kim Eun-kyung, Innovation Committee Chair of the Democratic Party of Korea, is giving a greeting at the 2030 Youth Forum held at a cafe in Seongdong-gu. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Park added, "There was an opinion that it would be good to have regular opportunities to listen to our voices, not the words of politicians who do not understand the lives of young people at all, and that dividing into progressives and conservatives is an old people's story and has nothing to do with us, so please do not view us in a dichotomy," adding, "This was a great help in producing good reform proposals by the Innovation Committee."
Innovation Committee member Kim Nam-hee said, "The criticism that there are no pledges for people in their 30s hit hard," and "Youth policies are abstract and superficial, so there are no substantial benefits; politics for my life is needed; there were also criticisms that the party is busy with mudslinging, fails to meet ethical expectations, and feels too old."
Innovation Committee Chair Kim Eun-kyung said, "We are vested interests who have enjoyed many things, but I felt that if you are happy, we can all be happy," adding, "Although this is just a first step, it was a meaningful time."
She continued, "We will create more opportunities to listen carefully to your voices and organize today's discussions well to deliver them to the Democratic Party," and "I cannot guarantee how many such opportunities there will be during the Innovation Committee's activities, but I plan to propose creating a Future Committee to regularly listen to the voices of young people."
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party previously recruited a youth advisory group called the 'Future Innovation Group' on the 19th, which is scheduled to start operating from the 31st. The Future Innovation Group consists of young people aged 18 to 34 and will be active for about three weeks from the 31st to the 20th of next month. It is divided into three main groups: future politics, future earth and society, and future economy. The Innovation Committee plans to reflect the results submitted by them in the final reform plan.
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