With 5 Months to General Election, Ruling and Opposition Parties... Full-Scale Start of Recruiting 'New Faces' Talent

Ruling Party Targets Working Moms and Disabled in 3040 Generation
Opposition Proposes 'National Recommendation System' for Direct Talent Nomination
Non-Pro-Moon Faction Expresses Concern Over Pro-Moon Dominance Even Among New Talents

With the 22nd general election five months away, the ruling and opposition parties have begun searching for new faces to represent their parties. The People Power Party is targeting the centrist voters by promoting candidates from Honam, people with disabilities, and working moms, while the Democratic Party of Korea has launched a 'National Recommendation System' to receive direct talent recommendations from the public, signaling the start of an intense talent recruitment battle.

On the 13th, the People Power Party announced at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that it had appointed five members as party talent recruitment committee members, including Dr. Park Eun-sik, a specialist in internal medicine and co-chair of the Honam Alternative Forum, and Kim Na-yoon, a bodybuilder known for having one arm and a public ambassador for the Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled. Dr. Park, who is from Honam, is regarded as a rational figure offering a balanced perspective on conservatism. Ambassador Kim lost her left arm in an unfortunate accident but succeeded in rehabilitation and has an unusual background of winning various bodybuilding competitions.

Lee Cheol-gyu, Chairman of the People Power Party's Talent Recruitment Committee, is giving a briefing on talent recruitment at the National Assembly on the 13th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Additionally, Jo Jung-hoon, a lawmaker who joined the ruling party through absorption merger, Park Jun-tae, CEO of Crown Labs and former National Assembly aide, and Song Ji-eun, a '30s working mom and standing representative of the Young Lawyers Association for a New Future, were named as talent recruitment committee members. Except for lawmaker Jo, all members of the People Power Party’s talent recruitment committee were born in the 1980s and 1990s, indicating a strategy to focus on the 30s and 40s age group, which is considered a weak point for the party. In particular, by putting working moms and people with disabilities at the forefront, the party aims to broaden its inclusiveness from a policy perspective.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 1st. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The Democratic Party also launched its 'National Talent Recommendation System' starting that day. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, stated at the Supreme Council meeting, "If the public directly recommends or volunteers talented individuals they want, we will discover excellent talents that meet the public’s expectations." The plan is to receive recommendations for suitable candidates in 12 subdivided fields such as economy, industry, science and technology, and judicial reform, and to thoroughly verify and carefully select them.

The Democratic Party formed a talent committee on the 8th and appointed Lee Jae-myung as its chairman. The committee currently consists of only two members, including lawmaker Kim Sung-hwan, who was appointed as secretary on the same day, with no external appointments that could be considered an 'innovation' card. Lawmaker Kim explained, "Due to the sensitive nature of the talent recommendations, the official composition is limited to these two members, and the party will provide systematic support."

However, there are voices of dissatisfaction within the party regarding the talent recruitment process being centered around leader Lee Jae-myung. There are concerns that even the new faces leading the party’s personnel reform might be overwhelmingly 'pro-Lee.' On the 10th, Lee Won-wook, a three-term senior lawmaker considered part of the 'anti-Lee faction,' criticized on MBC News Outside, "Isn’t the talent recruitment committee’s intention to gather people close to me and secure nominations?"