Kim Jong-min Responds "Never Heard Before" to Speculation About Appointment as Special Political Minister in Yoon Administration

No Contact Received from the Presidential Office
Considered the Right Person to Improve Ruling and Opposition Relations
Kim "Strengthening Cooperation Between Democratic Party and Jukuk New Party"

Kim Jong-min, co-representative of Saeroun Mirae, dismissed reports on the 17th that President Yoon Seok-yeol is seriously considering appointing him as Special Minister for Political Affairs, calling it "the first time I've heard of it."

On the morning of the same day, the radio program 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' reported that it received this response from Co-representative Kim. A source close to Representative Kim told Asia Economy in a phone call, "There has been no contact from the presidential office regarding this matter."

Earlier that morning, a media outlet reported that President Yoon Seok-yeol is seriously considering former ministers and opposition figures from the previous Moon Jae-in administration as candidates for prime minister and minister positions. According to the report, the new prime minister candidate is former Minister Park Young-sun, the new Chief of Staff candidate is former Democratic Research Institute Director Yang Jeong-cheol, and Kim Jong-min, co-representative of Saeroun Mirae, is mentioned as a strong candidate for Special Minister for Political Affairs.

However, the presidential office drew a line through this by stating in a notice, "The appointments of former Minister Park Young-sun, former Democratic Research Institute Director Yang Jeong-cheol, and others reported by some media have not been considered."

Representative Kim ran as a candidate for Sejong Gap in the recent general election and was elected, supported by Democratic Party voters despite initially low approval ratings in the 5% range. This was a result of support shifting to him after the Democratic Party candidate Lee Young-sun was disqualified due to false property declaration.

Born in 1964 in Nonsan, Chungnam, Representative Kim graduated from Janghoon High School in Seoul and Seoul National University with a degree in Korean Language and Literature, and worked as a journalist. He was appointed spokesperson for the Blue House during the Roh Moo-hyun administration in 2004 and was consecutively elected in the 20th and 21st general elections. In political circles, the speculation about Kim's appointment as Special Minister for Political Affairs is analyzed as being due to his ability to communicate for improving relations between ruling and opposition parties.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kim Jong-min Contemplates Position... Emphasizes Cooperation Among Democratic Party, Joguk Innovation Party, and Saeroun Mirae

However, Representative Kim is emphasizing cooperation among opposition parties for regime judgment. Judging that he did not receive sufficient support as a Saeroun Mirae candidate during his election, he is considering strengthening cooperation with opposition parties.

After meeting with Choi Min-ho, mayor of Sejong, the previous day, Representative Kim told reporters, "For the grand cause of regime judgment and regime change, the three opposition parties?Saeroun Mirae, the Democratic Party, and Joguk Innovation Party?must cooperate," adding, "Whether to merge, join individually, or form alliances or cooperation will be specifically discussed after evaluating the recent election."

He also hinted at the possibility of cooperation to secure a floor negotiation group for the Joguk Innovation Party. Representative Kim said, "If the Joguk Innovation Party extends a hand, we will consider that as well," and added, "We will rigorously evaluate why the value of multi-party democracy has not been realized and whether there were problems in election strategies."