Yoon seeks to forge bipartisanship
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Rep. Yoon Young-seok
By Kim Tae-gyu
Rep. Yoon Young-seok, a new spokesman for the governing Saenuri Party, prioritizes playing a role to help build a more constructive relationship with opposition parties.
He said the bipartisan cooperation is more significant than ever at a time when politicians need to gain public trust following the ferry Sewol tragedy.
“We should put forth efforts with sincerity to gain public trust as distrust lingers across the country in the wake of the Sewol accident,” Yoon told The Korea Times.
“In particular, people tend to turn their back on politicians. To win their trust again is a primary mission for both governing and opposition parties. We do not have the luxury to waste time in continuing partisan wrangling.”
Carrying 476 passengers, mostly teenage students in a high school south of Seoul, the ferry Sewol capsized off the country’s southwestern coast on April 16 over the Incheon-Jeju route. More than 300 were confirmed dead or are still listed as missing.
The government has been under fire for bungling its initial responses. Politicians also failed to avoid the criticisms.
“I will try to build better bipartisan relationship with the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy through principled approaches,” said the first-term lawmaker whose electoral precinct is Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province.
While selecting new floor leader of Rep. Lee Wan-koo earlier this month, the Saenuri also appointed three new spokespersons ― Rep. Yoon and Reps. Kim Hyun-sook and Lee Jang-woo.
They will represent the ruling party together with another spokesman of Rep. Park Dae-chul.
Yoon started his career as a bureaucrat as he passed the civil service exam in 1993. He worked in the labor ministry but moved to the Seoul Metropolitan Government to serve it for a long time.
He played a big role when former President Lee Myung-bak was in charge of the capital in the early and mid 2000s.
The life-time bureaucrat turned to a politician by winning the general elections two years ago to enter the National Assembly. He is a member of the industry and trade committee of the unicameral parliament.
Born in Yangsan, the 49-year-old earned his bachelor’s degree in politics and diplomacy from Sungkyunkwan University. He also gained his master’s degree from Duke University.