[22nd Rising Star](18) 'Lee Jae-myung's Secretary' Mo Gyeong-jong Lawmaker "Will Take on Prosecution Reform"

Connected with Lee Jae-myung in 2019 while studying for exams
Growing interest in lifecycle-tailored welfare

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, and to deliver tangible results. We introduce the elected officials who are expected to bring a fresh breeze to the 22nd National Assembly. (1) Park Ji-hye (2) Go Dong-jin (3) Kwak Sang-eon (4) Park Soo-min (5) Park Chung-kwon (6) Seo Myung-ok (7) Im Mi-ae (8) Choi Eun-seok (9) Boo Seung-chan (10) Wi Seong-rak (11) Jo Seung-hwan (12) Kim Nam-hee (13) Kim Jun-hyung (14) Park Sung-hoon (15) Kim Hyun-jung (16) Kim Yong-tae (17) Lee Ju-young (18) Mo Kyung-jong

Mo Kyung-jong, a Democratic Party lawmaker representing Seo-gu B in Incheon, starts his day on the subway or bus. It takes about an hour and a half to commute from his home in Incheon to the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. One citizen recognized Mo, who is 183 cm tall and weighs 93 kg, on the bus and greeted him first. Mo said, "He asked if I was Mo Kyung-jong, so I shook hands and took a photo with him," adding, "I am just grateful to the citizens for welcoming me so warmly."

Mok Kyung-jong, the elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is giving an interview to Asia Economy at the National Assembly on the 28th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Mo was what is commonly called a 'gosisaeng' (a person preparing for civil service exams). In 2019, while studying for the administrative exam, he saw an open recruitment for a youth secretary in Gyeonggi Province. This was his entry point into politics. Mo said, "I don't think administration and politics are completely separate. Both administration and politics contribute to the people through authority," adding, "Gyeonggi Province has about 3 million young people, and I thought it was a position where I could enrich their lives, so I applied for the youth secretary position."

Mo met Lee Jae-myung, then governor of Gyeonggi Province and now leader of the Democratic Party, for the first time when he started working as a youth secretary. He explained that he felt the influence one leader has on the civil service organization, especially elected officials often called 'eogong' (meaning 'accidental public servants'). Lee played a big role in bringing youth basic income and youth interview allowances from mere ideas to the implementation stage. Mo said, "Lee conveyed the voices of reality to the civil servants and discussed how to share responsibility together, so the civil servant group demonstrated their capabilities," adding, "I felt that being able to bring out such abilities is a leader's quality and role."

The average age of the 22nd National Assembly is 56.3 years. This is older than the 20th National Assembly at 55.5 years and the 21st at 54.9 years. Mo, at 34, is among the younger politicians. However, he disagrees with the notion of an 'old National Assembly.' Mo said, "If you look simply at biological age, it could be called an old National Assembly, but there are seniors who are more awake and move faster than I do," adding, "I think the age of thought is more important than biological age."

As a young politician, he emphasized the advantage of not being bound by existing political conventions. The political convention he wants to break is the National Assembly's habit of not even processing livelihood bills when the ruling and opposition parties are at odds. Mo said, "If we act according to the existing conventions, politics will only produce the same results," adding, "All 300 lawmakers play a constitutional role. Even if we fight fiercely, I want to restore the National Assembly's positive function by having small exchanges one by one to process livelihood bills."

Mok Kyung-jong, elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is giving an interview to Asia Economy at the National Assembly on the 28th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

One of the issues he wants to address in the 22nd National Assembly is prosecutorial reform. As a member of the party's prosecutorial reform task force (TF), he plans to work on revising related bills and adopting party positions. Mo said, "Various problems such as abuse of prosecutorial power and prosecutorial convenience in indictments have been continuously mentioned, and enough time has been given for the prosecution to self-correct," adding, "The prosecutorial reform TF will play a role from quickly establishing the Serious Crime Investigation Agency to adopting party positions."

He is also very interested in lifecycle-tailored welfare. He said, "There is an average lifecycle from birth to death in Korean society, but I question whether the state is providing appropriate support," adding, "Our country has the capacity to play a greater role. I will propose policies so that the state can provide support according to the lifecycle through legislation and other means."