[Lee Jae Myung's Power Man] "Dawn-Type Prime Minister" Kim Min Seok [AK Radio]

"I Will Be a Dawn Prime Minister Who Protects the People's Dawn"
Becomes the Leading Figure of the Shinmyeong Faction in the Lee Jae Myung Administration
Multiple Paths Ahead Depending on the Political Situation

Prime Minister Kim Min Seok, a Protestant Christian, is said to have attended early morning prayers without fail until recently. Perhaps for this reason, he often uses the word "dawn." On July 4, when he received his letter of appointment from President Lee Jae Myung, he stated, "I will become a dawn prime minister to accelerate the pace of national governance." At his inauguration ceremony on July 7, he said, "I will become a chief of staff who opens the era of a great president. I will be a dawn prime minister who protects the dawn of the people." Within the ruling party, there are expectations that President Lee Jae Myung's "night owl" style and Prime Minister Kim's style will complement each other and produce positive results.

President Lee Jae Myung is saluting the national flag at the Cabinet meeting held at the Yongsan Presidential Office on the 8th. On the right is Prime Minister Kim Min Seok. Photo by Presidential Office Press Photographers Group Yonhap News

Currently, Prime Minister Kim is seen going beyond the ceremonial and representative roles typically associated with the position, taking on a more substantive role in dealing with various current issues. Attention is focused on whether he will serve as a so-called "powerful prime minister," similar to Kim Jong Pil during President Kim Dae Jung's administration or Lee Hae Chan during President Roh Moo Hyun's term.

Prime Minister Kim was born in 1964 in Singil-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. He is the youngest of three brothers in the Gyeongju Kim family. He graduated from Seodaemun Middle School, Soongsil High School, and the Department of Sociology at Seoul National University. He earned master's degrees from Harvard University and Tsinghua University in China. He also obtained a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, in the United States. During his university years, he served as president of the Seoul National University Student Council and as chair of the National Federation of Student Councils. He spent about three years in prison for allegedly orchestrating the U.S. Cultural Center arson incident and other activities.

He entered politics at the recommendation of former President Kim Dae Jung and ran in the 14th general election in 1992 but was defeated. Running in Yeongdeungpo-eul, Seoul, he lost to Na Ung Bae, a senior member of the Democratic Liberal Party, by 260 votes. He was 28 years old at the time. At age 32, in 1996, he defeated the actor Choi Bul Am to win a seat in the 15th National Assembly, gaining attention as a rising star and a leading figure of the "386 group" (those born in the 1960s, attended university in the 1980s, and were in their 30s). However, after losing his bid for re-election as mayor of Seoul in 2002, he left the Millennium Democratic Party, which was then led by presidential candidate Roh Moo Hyun. He joined National Unity 21, led by candidate Chung Mong Joon, earning the nickname "Kim Min Sae" (a combination of Kim Min Seok and "cheolsae," meaning political turncoat).

After Roh Moo Hyun won the 2002 presidential election, Kim had to spend a long period outside of mainstream politics until he was re-elected as a member of the National Assembly in 2020. During this time, he made several political attempts, including running for mayor of Busan and for both constituency and proportional representation seats, but all were unsuccessful. He also studied at Tsinghua University Law School (master's) in China and at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (doctorate, where he obtained a U.S. attorney qualification).

Prime Minister Minseok Kim is paying a courtesy visit to Jinwoo, the Chief Executive Monk of Jogye Order, at Jogyesa Temple in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 10th. Photo by Yonhap News

In 2016, he returned to the Democratic Party of Korea and served as head of the Democratic Research Institute. In 2020, he was elected in Yeongdeungpo-eul, Seoul, and entered the 21st National Assembly. He served as chair of the Health and Welfare Committee, chair of the Policy Committee, and head of the General Situation Room for the election campaign. Under the "Lee Jae Myung leadership," he emerged as the leading figure of the "Shinmyeong" (new Lee Jae Myung faction) group, making a complete political comeback. During the general election, commonly referred to as the "Bimyeong massacre," he served as the chief situation officer. In the August 18 party convention last year, he won first place in the Supreme Council member election and became the senior Supreme Council member. He was among the first to predict the possibility of martial law and actively defended "pragmatist Lee Jae Myung" by publishing the book "About Lee Jae Myung." In the June 3 presidential election, he served as the senior co-chair of the election campaign committee and was credited as a key contributor to the victory.

After the presidential election, there was much speculation that he might aim for party leader or run in next year's Seoul mayoral election, but President Lee chose Kim Min Seok as prime minister. It appears that the president decided he needed to appoint someone as prime minister who could deliver results through practical work, stabilize the country quickly, and provide a steady hand, rather than simply being a figure of harmony.

The political future of Prime Minister Kim Min Seok is expected to be fluid, depending on the political situation and his relationship with President Lee. Whether he will serve as prime minister for an extended period and then run for president, become party leader before making a future move, or challenge for Seoul mayor in next year's local elections, remains uncertain amid the changing political landscape. For Prime Minister Kim, this is a political opportunity with multiple possible paths.

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