Yeoyeon Union: "Policy Researchers Fewer Than Administrative Staff... Self-Regulation Function Paralyzed"

"Reached the Critical Point of Structural Contradiction"

The Yeouido Institute, the think tank of the People Power Party, faced internal criticism stating that its "self-correcting function has been paralyzed" following the defeat in the April 10 general election.

On the 26th, the Yeouido Institute labor union issued a statement saying, "The long-accumulated structural contradictions within the Yeouido Institute have reached a critical point." The union criticized, "The number of staff in the research support administrative department (5 people) exceeds that of the policy department (4 people). It's like the tail wagging the dog," adding, "Among the policy office staff, only one holds a doctoral degree, which is a truly poor level for a think tank."

On the 25th, a discussion titled "Tasks Left by the 22nd General Election" hosted by the Yeouido Research Institute was held at the People Power Party Central Party Office in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

They also emphasized the weak foundation for strengthening the institute's policy functions. The Yeouido Institute union said, "An even more shocking fact is that there is not a single researcher majoring in economics among the current Yeouido Institute researchers," and added, "While discussions about strengthening the policy functions of the Yeouido Institute inside and outside the party are welcome, they come across as absurd remarks made without understanding the internal situation."

The union also pointed out that the Yeouido Institute is structurally focused only on responding to current issues rather than mid- to long-term policy tasks. The union stated, "The head of the Yeouido Institute attends the party's Supreme Council meetings but focuses on short-term urgent issues, either bringing tasks from the party leader or for their own political appeal, dealing only with immediate realities," criticizing this as a "structural contradiction that prevents the think tank from fulfilling its original mission."

They further said, "As revealed in this general election defeat, focused research by generation groups such as the 20s and 30s, and 40s and 50s is necessary," and added, "An important part of normalizing the Yeouido Institute is reforming the system that fundamentally makes research on national mid- to long-term tasks impossible."

Additionally, the union claimed that incidents of power harassment and verbal abuse by superiors within the Yeouido Institute have occurred but were not properly resolved.