[22nd Rising Star]⑫ Kim Namhee "I Dream of a Society Where People Live with Dignity... Will Propose a Bill for Caregivers' Industrial Accident Insurance"

Worked at a Large Law Firm, Now Active in Participation Solidarity
Plans to Propose Bills on Welfare, Elder Care, Childcare, and Education

Editor's NoteThere are 131 first-term lawmakers entering the 22nd National Assembly. This is the lowest number since the 16th National Assembly in 2000, which had 112. The public expects these lawmakers to lead politics of dialogue and compromise amid a situation where the ruling party is in the minority, producing tangible results. We introduce the elected officials who are expected to bring a fresh breeze to the 22nd National Assembly. ①Park Ji-hye ②Go Dong-jin ③Gwak Sang-eon ④Park Soo-min ⑤Park Chung-kwon ⑥Seo Myung-ok ⑦Lim Mi-ae ⑧Choi Eun-seok ⑨Boo Seung-chan ⑩Wi Seong-rak ⑪Jo Seung-hwan ⑫Kim Nam-hee

Kim Nam-hee, elected from the Democratic Party of Korea representing Gwangmyeong-si Eul in Gyeonggi Province, left behind a high-paying job at a major law firm to dedicate 13 years to public interest activities. In this general election, she was recruited by the Democratic Party as a welfare expert and ran in Gwangmyeong-si Eul, defeating the incumbent lawmaker to secure the party nomination. In the general election, she won by a margin of 19.1 percentage points over the People Power Party candidate.

On the morning of the 21st, we met Kim at the National Assembly. As soon as we greeted each other, she showed the reporter a letter her sixth-grade daughter gave her during the campaign. The letter contained words of support, saying, "Just as mom supported my dream," she supports her mother. She said, "Raising two children, I came to think that I want to work on creating a society where children can live with dignity even if they are not among the successful few, rather than making them successful minorities."

Kim Nam-hee, the elected member of the Democratic Party for Gwangmyeong, is giving an interview to Asia Economy at the National Assembly on the 20th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Kim emphasized that "living a life with dignity for everyone" is her life goal. When asked what led her to set this goal, she said, "Looking back, I think my experience living in Changsin-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, as an elementary school student had an influence," adding, "I lived in Changsin-dong with my maternal grandmother, mother, and three siblings, and I saw many friends around me living in hardship." She continued, "That’s when I became interested in poverty and social inequality issues," and "Even in university, I ran a study room teaching elementary school students in a demolition village in Seocho-dong."

She graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in law and passed the 43rd Judicial Examination. She entered the Judicial Research and Training Institute as part of the 32nd class (entered in 2001). After working as a lawyer, she met her current husband at a law firm, married, and had her first child in 2009. She said that in 2011, while in Tokyo, Japan, she experienced a fear of death and resolved to "do what I want to do even if I live just one day." She recalled, "I didn’t know any Japanese at all, but I briefly lived in Japan following my husband’s work location," and "Then the Great East Japan Earthquake struck, and while my husband was at the office, the phone lines were cut off, and I waited all day with my child."

After returning to Korea that year, Kim quit her lawyer job and joined the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy. She recalled that one memorable effort during her time there was working to abolish the support obligor criteria in the National Basic Livelihood Security System. She said, "One of the reasons the criteria were abolished was a candidate invitation debate held just before the 19th presidential election," adding, "We very difficultly invited then-presidential candidate Moon Jae-in. He made the related pledge for the first time at that event."

She entered politics last year while serving as a spokesperson for the "Kim Eun-kyung Innovation Committee" established within the Democratic Party. She said, "The Innovation Committee held nationwide regional tour meetings and met many Democratic Party members," adding, "I was moved because I felt that the members I met supported the Democratic Party for altruistic reasons and a desire to live well together." She added, "At that time, I thought that if I worked with such people in the Democratic Party, I could try to change the world."

Kim emphasized that she will focus on strengthening welfare in the 22nd National Assembly. For example, she said she plans to propose a bill to apply industrial accident compensation insurance to caregiving workers. She explained, "Hospitals and referral agencies do not employ caregivers, so caregivers are not covered by labor law insurance," adding, "Through my public activities, I have already prepared a bill to ensure caregivers can at least be covered by industrial accident insurance." She added, "Besides this, I plan to diligently prepare bills related to elderly care, childcare, and education."

Kim Nam-hee, the elected member of the Democratic Party for Gwangmyeong, is giving an interview to Asia Economy at the National Assembly on the 20th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@