"Are Children Responsible for Being Poor?"...A Quiet Question That Moved the National Assembly

Assemblyman Choi Kisang presses government in interpellation
Calls for solutions to housing problems facing children in poverty
"We must wait for the changes that will come in two years"

"Are children responsible for being poor?"

On the evening of the 10th, at the plenary chamber of the National Assembly. Choi Kisang, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Korea who took the floor as the final questioner in the government Q&A session on economic affairs, continued his questions in a calm voice. The subject of his interpellation was clear: how to improve the housing conditions of hundreds of thousands of children living in substandard dwellings such as basements, rooftop rooms, and Gosiwon-style single rooms.

Assemblyman Choi said, "When I look at photos of the homes where these children sleep and live, I feel so distressed and ashamed that I even wonder whether public officials should have to live like this," adding, "When a human being is born, which parents they meet can indeed divide fortune from misfortune, but the way for misfortune not to turn into unhappiness and instead become happiness is for the state and the government to step in."

His appeal was all-encompassing. He invoked moral obligation, intergenerational social solidarity, comparisons with legal systems in other countries, the state policy goals of the Lee Jaemyung administration, and even a phrase from the book that says "America's leading child killer is poverty," as he quite literally set out to persuade Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yundeok.

In particular, he pointed out, "The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child also contains provisions on housing support for children. The same applies to the Children Act in the United Kingdom, the Child and Youth Welfare Act in Germany, and the Building Code in France," and went on, "However, in our country, there are no provisions on children's right to housing in the Act on Support for Residentially Vulnerable Persons such as Persons with Disabilities and the Elderly, the Act on the Prevention of and Support for Child Poverty, or the Child Welfare Act."

Choi Gisang, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea (2025.02.25 Photo by Joint Press Corps)

He then asked, "Minister, I saw that you also put forward a good related bill in the 21st National Assembly. Do you happen to remember it?" He was referring to the fact that Minister Kim, who is also a sitting lawmaker, had introduced an amendment to the Act on Support for Residentially Vulnerable Persons such as Persons with Disabilities and the Elderly during the 21st National Assembly that would include children under the age of 18 among the residentially vulnerable. By recalling the sense of problem-awareness at the time the bill was introduced, he was urging the minister to lead change.

Perhaps as a result of Assemblyman Choi's persistent persuasion, Minister Kim said, "Without making excuses about other ministries, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will take responsibility and do our utmost." Assemblyman Choi then repeatedly urged Prime Minister Kim Minseok as well, saying, "Please look into this once again."

Concluding his questions, Assemblyman Choi finished his remarks by quoting former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"'When I reflect on a given situation, I take the ending as my starting point. I envision the desirable outcome and work backward from there. What matters is not what you will read in tomorrow's newspaper, but the results that will be achieved two years from now.' By the time the 22nd National Assembly completes its term, we must have a precise plan and carry it through so that we can see how much the number of children suffering from housing poverty that I have just mentioned has decreased, and how much the number of women tormented by dating violence has declined. What meaning would politics have if it were made up of lawmakers who only worry about what article will appear in tomorrow morning's paper or what content will go up on YouTube today?"