Minjoo Party Recruits Park Seon-won, Former 'Moon National Intelligence Service' Member... "Stop Favoring Pro-Japanese"

Democratic Party Announces Former Deputy Director Park Seon-won as 4th Recruitment Talent
Key Figure in Roh Administration's External Strategy... Former 1st Deputy Director of National Intelligence Service under Moon
5th Talent is Former Vice President of Korean Medical Association Kang Cheong-hee in 'Medical' Field

The Democratic Party of Korea has recruited Park Seon-won, former First Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service who held key positions in the diplomatic and security lines during the Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in administrations. 'Medical expert' Kang Cheong-hee, former full-time vice president of the Korean Medical Association, also joined.

On the 27th, the Democratic Party held a welcoming ceremony for talents at the National Assembly and announced Park as the 4th recruit and Kang as the 5th recruit. Party leader Lee Jae-myung welcomed them, saying, "Diplomacy, security, and the health of the people are of utmost importance." He added, "Due to the difficult-to-understand attitude of the government and ruling party, the diplomatic and security situation is deteriorating," emphasizing, "The principle of diplomacy should be pragmatic diplomacy centered on national interests."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is introducing Park Seon-won, former 1st Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service (left), and Kang Cheong-hee, former Executive Vice President of the Korean Medical Association, at a talent welcome ceremony held at the National Assembly on the 27th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding Kang, Lee introduced him as "a health and medical expert who also served as the head of the Korean Medical Association's MERS countermeasures headquarters," and said, "He has worked hard for public healthcare, and we expect him to play a significant role in protecting the health of the people, which the Democratic Party is deeply concerned about."

Park Seon-won, originally from Naju, Jeollanam-do, is part of the '86 generation' who entered Yonsei University’s Department of Business Administration in 1982 and served as the chairman of the anti-American organization 'Sammin-tu' at Yonsei University. In 1985, he was implicated as a mastermind behind the occupation of the Gwangju American Cultural Center and was imprisoned. Later, he went to study abroad in the UK, earning a Ph.D. in International Politics from the University of Warwick. During the Roh Moo-hyun administration, he served as the Secretary for Unification, Foreign Affairs, and Security Strategy at the Blue House, leading external strategies. Notably, he was trusted by former President Roh to the extent that he attended the Korea-US summit in the US in September 2006. Former Minister of Unification Jeong Dong-young described him as 'Zhuge Liang' and a 'schemer.' Later, under the Moon Jae-in administration, he served as Director of Planning and Coordination and First Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service.

At the event, Park recalled the controversy in May regarding the US intelligence agency’s wiretapping of the presidential office and criticized the Yoon Seok-youl administration, saying, "I highly value the Korea-US alliance, but if you cannot say a word about wiretapping of the presidential office, what kind of kinship diplomacy is that?" He added, "Pro-Japanese, excessive diplomacy must also stop," emphasizing, "We must conduct high-level smart diplomacy that prioritizes the national interest of the Republic of Korea."

Democratic Party's 5th Recruitment Talent, Kang Cheong-hee, Former Full-time Vice President of the Korean Medical Association
[Image Source=Yonhap News]

Kang Cheong-hee, recruited as a health and medical expert, is from Seoul and graduated from Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine. He specialized in thoracic surgery, a subject often avoided. The Democratic Party explained that "during his time as the Korean Medical Association’s general director and emergency committee secretary, he took the lead in protecting the people's health rights against medical commercialization continued under the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations."

Kang expressed his ambition, saying, "I will work to block medical privatization projects and run for the victory of the Democratic Party and the people with the belief that care is hope." He also mentioned, "I am considering running in the Gangnam district, which is suitable for creating a model case of care."

Meanwhile, when asked whether it is appropriate to consider Park, who held public office during the Democratic Party administration, as a recruited talent, Assemblyman Kim Seong-hwan, who serves as secretary of the Talent Committee, replied, "The Talent Committee handles both recruitment of new talents and promotion of internal talents."