Outgoing Kim Jin-pyo's Request: "Please Uphold Parliamentary Principles in the National Assembly, the Last Bastion of Democracy"

"Hope for Achievements Like Electoral System Reform in the Next National Assembly"
"Consider Myself Lucky to Work for the People and the Nation"

Kim Jin-pyo, the Speaker of the National Assembly who is about to retire, urged the restoration of parliamentary principles in the 22nd National Assembly. He also appealed for political reforms such as electoral system reform and constitutional amendment to be achieved in the next National Assembly.

In his closing remarks at the press conference held at the National Assembly on the 22nd, Speaker Kim said, "When you first take the speaker's seat and hold the gavel, you face concerns that are on a completely different level from what you had thought before. As the head of the National Assembly, the frontline and last bastion of democracy, I feel a heavy responsibility to uphold parliamentary principles," adding, "I believe that those who will become the Speaker in the future will share the same concerns and devote all their efforts to protecting parliamentary principles and creating a National Assembly that earns the trust of the people."

In his opening remarks as well, Speaker Kim said, "Through past experiences, I have come to think that politics is a profession that involves making choices depending on the time and issue," and added, "In the new National Assembly, I hope that true parliamentary principles will be realized through politics of coexistence, dialogue, and compromise from the people's perspective, without falling into the errors of party interests and self-benefit."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The day before, at the training session for the elected members of the 22nd National Assembly held at the National Assembly Museum, Speaker Kim emphasized parliamentary principles and delivered harsh criticism to both ruling and opposition parties. Referring to changes in the media environment such as the rise of social networking services (SNS), he pointed out, "The harmful effects of factional politics and fandom politics combined have led to labeling those who oppose factional logic as so-called 'wangsubak' or 'junggan subak' (terms used to describe people as outsiders or half-insiders), which is a major crisis for representative democracy." Regarding factional politics, he also said, "We must respect not only those who voted for me but also those who voted for the other side, and view the other side as partners, not enemies." He criticized the ruling party by saying, "No one dares to say 'No' to the President." Regarding the frequent exercise of the President's veto power, he urged, "The ruling party publicly says they will exercise the veto power, but this is telling the people that they are giving up the authority and responsibility of National Assembly members as constitutional institutions. Negotiations must be pursued to the end. There is no reason not to negotiate."

He also expressed regret over failing to achieve results despite pushing the electoral law reform all the way to the plenary committee. He said he did his best to create a "National Assembly that creates new hope," but it did not bear fruit. Speaker Kim said, "Although we poured all our efforts into reform tasks such as constitutional amendment and electoral system reform, the regret of not seeing results is great," and added, "I could not help but feel sorrow and remorse over the political reality that failed to properly continue the spirit of national unity and cooperation and the achievements of political reform realized during the eras of Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun." He urged the 22nd National Assembly to achieve constitutional amendment and electoral system reform. He said, "In every National Assembly, there have been discussions on constitutional amendment for power structure reform and electoral system reform to alleviate political polarization, but nothing was implemented and no progress was made," and added, "I sincerely hope that the next National Assembly will achieve results in constitutional amendment and electoral system reform and blossom new hope for the Republic of Korea starting from politics."

He asked the newly convened National Assembly to address the low birthrate issue. Speaker Kim said, "We cannot talk about the future without overcoming the low birthrate," and introduced, "I devoted myself with the National Assembly staff to establish strategies to overcome the low birthrate and highlight it as a crucial national task, drawing on all my public service experience."

He shared his reflections as he steps down from the frontline of politics. He said, "Looking back, I have walked the path of a public servant for 30 years and a politician for 20 years," and added, "As I conclude my 50 years of public service, the first thought that comes to mind is that I was fortunate to have been able to dedicate my life to serving the people and the nation." Speaker Kim said, "I will leave the National Assembly in a week, but in my heart remains the passionate belief that 'it is not over until it is over,'" and added, "Wherever I am in the future, I pledge to do everything I can for the nation and the people until I exhaust all the energy I have left."