Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Former presidential aide eyes Assembly seat to 'correct' Yoon's economic policies
Kim Seong-jin, a preliminary candidate of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea for the April 10 general elections, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at his campaign base in Seongbuk District, Seoul, Feb. 14. Courtesy of Kim Seong-jin
By Nam Hyun-woo
Kim Seong-jin, a former presidential secretary under the previous Moon Jae-in administration, is seeking a seat in the National Assembly in the upcoming April 10 general elections, saying President Yoon Suk Yeol's economic policies are not improving people's livelihoods.
"Public livelihood is about how people are actually living their lives with the money they have, and improving public livelihood means addressing people's economic instability," Kim said in an interview with The Korea Times.
"A nation should collect an appropriate amount of tax and use it for guaranteeing basic living standards for those suffering from income instability, housing insecurity and other economic difficulties. But the current Yoon administration is doing the opposite, sticking to the outdated concept of the trickle-down effect."
Kim is a lawyer who spent much of his career as a pro bono attorney for major civic groups, such as People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and Lawyers for a Democratic Society, also known as Minbyun.
After serving as a presidential secretary for civil and social agenda in 2017, he focused on working for the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). Though he describes himself as an expert in economic policies and living costs, he is better known as a legal team member of the DPK's fight against the Yoon administration.
From left, Lawyer Kim Seong-jin, main opposition Democratic Party of Korea Reps. Min Hyung-bae, Kim Yong-min and Jeon Yong-gi enter the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials at the Government Complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Jan. 8, to file complaints against the prosecution for investigating journalists on charges of defamation. Newsis
He drew media attention when he applied as a DPK preliminary candidate for Seoul's Seongbuk B constituency during the past winter. During the screening process, the DPK postponed a decision on his appropriateness as a candidate three times due to suspicion that he might be underreporting his wealth. He reported having no car, no home and financial assets were deemed too small for a lawyer whose spouse is also a lawyer.
"It seems that the party had doubts because a lawyer couple owned no home or car and had very little financial assets," Kim said. "I thought spending my time on making money was not what I should pursue. So I spent more time on pro bono work for Minbyun and tried to play my role in improving public livelihood within the field of politics."
Kim is one of the early-stage architects of the 2012 government regulation obliging major discount chains, such as E-Mart, Lotte Mart and Homeplus, to close their stores on the second and fourth Sundays of every month to help support traditional markets and small businesses.
The regulation was scrapped last month, following the government's decision citing the necessity to improve the convenience of shoppers and data showing traditional markets' sales did not improve after the regulation. However, civic groups say it is attributable to the growth of online shopping, and discount stores' sales dropped sharply during the same period.
"We endorsed the program because the Distribution Industry Development Act allowed conglomerates to establish large stores without considering their impact on nearby mom-and-pop shop owners," Kim said.
"Also, the regulation was aimed at guaranteeing rights to rest for workers at those discount stores."
"The Yoon government is trying to undo the program, saying it is for improving public livelihood. This leaves me no option but to suspect that the government is improving conditions for conglomerates, not the general public."
Kim added that helping large conglomerates is not a viable strategy to drive economic growth and eventually improve the economic status of the general public, saying, "Chaebols are not making investments because there is no innovation."
"The breakthrough for the country's economic growth is innovation, and it requires policies that can accelerate it," Kim said.
"So far, [past] governments had endured capital expenses as part of their policies to drive innovation, and this resulted in Korea having its current industrial status. But now the [Yoon] government is making tax cuts for the haves and large conglomerates and compensating the declining tax revenue by cutting research and development expenses," he said, referring to 4.6 trillion won of budget cuts on state-led R&D projects in the government's budget this year.
Lawyer Kim Seong-jin, second from left, voices a complaint against then-Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho along with the members of People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy during a press conference in front of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho District, Seoul, Dec. 28, 2016. Newsis
The lawyer said that those economic failures could be seen as Yoon abandoning his constitutional duty as presidentand failing to address political matters. He said voters should help anti-Yoon political parties, including the DPK, to secure more than 200 out of 300 National Assembly seats in the National Assembly.
"I understand how demeaning it is for hardworking individuals to struggle in a flawed system that has been neglected," he said. "Helping people to be more confident in their economic activities is the goal of policies for livelihoods. Creating an atmosphere where the economically disadvantaged feel less intimidated by the powerful in issues like income security, housing, and healthcare is what the country's politicians should strive for."