Kim Jongin Criticizes Constitutional Respect Task Force as "Very Childish Idea... Could Undermine President's Five-Month Achievements"

Positive Assessment on Diplomacy Including US-Korea Tariff Negotiations
Negative Evaluation of the "Constitutional Respect Task Force" Initiative

Kim Jongin, former Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party (and former Emergency Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea), gave a relatively positive assessment of President Lee Jaemyung's achievements since taking office, such as the announcement of the US-Korea tariff negotiation fact sheet. He expressed the view that next year's local elections would be favorable for the Democratic Party. However, regarding the operation of the "Constitutional Respect Task Force," which aims to identify public officials involved in the December 3 Martial Law Incident, he gave a negative evaluation, saying, "Doesn't this undermine the President's accomplishments?"

Kim Jongin, former emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party. Photo by The Asia Business Daily

On the 17th, appearing on the Buddhist Broadcasting System (BBS) radio program "Kim Taesup's Morning Journal," Kim said, "I think President Lee has worked hard during the five months since his inauguration." He continued, "He has tried to communicate with the people in every way possible, and even in terms of diplomacy, I think he did fairly well during the two summits with President Trump."

He added, "From that perspective, I don't think President Lee has made any major mistakes so far," and, "Recent opinion polls show his (administration's) approval rating exceeding 60%, so at this point, there is nothing in particular to criticize." In particular, Kim gave a passing grade to the administration's diplomatic achievements. He said, "At the (Gyeongju) APEC summit, both the President of the United States and the President of China attended, and both Korea-China and Korea-US summits were held. In that context, the summits were handled relatively well."

He further stated, "Seeing President Lee bring up the issue of nuclear-powered submarines to President Trump and get approval, I think he made every effort he could." He continued, "As for the US investment fund, they initially asked for $200 billion to be paid at once. Fortunately, it was settled so that $20 billion would be paid annually. I don't think paying about $20 billion per year will cause significant problems for Korea."

However, Kim added a caveat, saying, "I don't think the deal has been completely finalized yet. Out of the total $350 billion, $200 billion is to be paid at $20 billion per year, but $150 billion is supposed to be used for the revival of the US shipbuilding industry. It is still unclear how that portion will be invested."

"Five Months into the Lee Jaemyung Administration: Time to Enter a Phase of Stability and Inclusion"

While Kim gave a relatively favorable review of the Lee Jaemyung administration, he criticized the government's plan to form a task force to investigate whether public officials participated in the rebellion, saying, "I don't know who came up with that idea, but it's a very childish notion." He argued, "I don't think there are that many public officials who supported or sympathized with martial law. Perhaps a few people who had a special connection with former President Yoon may have expressed support for martial law, but to form a task force and conduct forensic analysis of cell phones just to identify those few people is questionable."

Last September, President Lee Jae-myung (then leader of the Democratic Party of Korea) and former Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party Kim Jongin were met near Gwanghwamun in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

He continued, "It has already been five months since the Lee Jaemyung administration was established. At this point, the government should be moving toward stability and inclusion, but instead, they are creating a task force that only serves to unsettle public officials. Will this really improve the efficiency of the government?" He added, "President Lee has made significant efforts over the past five months to communicate with the people, but by suddenly creating such a task force, I think he is undermining his own achievements."

Regarding the October 15 government real estate measures, Kim commented, "No matter how decisive the policy, if it destroys the essence of the market economy, it cannot succeed. The real estate market only functions properly when supply and demand are balanced. If you implement a policy simply because there is high demand and decide to halt transactions, the market will freeze, and this will have a considerable impact on economic growth." He pointed out, "In the end, you will have no choice but to reverse course. Such measures should be taken with foresight as to whether they can be sustained, but that consideration was completely lacking."

Finally, when asked about the outlook for the June 3 local elections next year, Kim said, "After the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye in 2017, the Moon Jae-in administration came to power, and the Democratic Party achieved a landslide victory in the 2018 local elections. I wonder if a similar result may occur again." He added, "Unless President Lee's administration makes a major mistake by next spring, the outcome of the local elections will likely be favorable for the Democratic Party."

Regarding the Seoul mayoral race, which is the main focus of attention, Kim stated, "Since Mayor Oh Sehoon is the incumbent, he currently leads in the polls, but depending on which candidate the Democratic Party nominates, Mayor Oh could face significant challenges. If the Democratic Party puts forward a completely new figure, for example, someone like Zohran Mamdani, a member of the New York City Council, there is a possibility that the Democratic Party could even win the Seoul mayoralty."