[4th EAI Academy] ⑦ Bipartisan Dialogue Among Young Politicians: Party Reform, Electoral System, and Generational Change

YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4BhAbmGzmo

Video Transcript

Since there are two questions, I will answer first. Next year is 2024, and I believe revolutionary change is necessary. This revolutionary change, and what I consider the next era's spirit, is the dismantling of vested interests. Vested interests in all sectors of society have become entrenched everywhere. Therefore, as Chairman Cho Sung-ju mentioned earlier, although we cannot radically pursue the concept of constructive dissolution, we aim for revolutionary change and the dismantling of vested interests.

I want to say this: there are likely many wealthy individuals here, and also those who are studying while working part-time jobs day by day. We all exist in various ways. Is there anyone with hope? Is your future, 10 years from now, clearly envisioned and incredibly bright? Even just looking at the changing seasons, I haven't been to the North Pole, but I feel the absence of glaciers. In the summer, there are floods, and in the winter, why is it so cold? Just looking at climate change alone, I truly worry about how long the Earth can exist. And they say the birth rate is low. I also bear responsibility. I am not yet married and have not had children. But are there any older generations who can criticize young people for not having children?

It's not that I'm not talking about responsibility, but if you were, for example, 34 years old and given the chance to live as a peer in our era, would you have children? There are adults who say things like, 'In our time, we had many children with a monthly salary of 500,000 won, even living in a one-room house, so why are you so unmotivated?' So, I believe that just pouring money into low birth rate policies doesn't work, as the policies have not proven effective. They say hundreds of trillions of won were invested over 10 years, but it didn't work. Therefore, I believe the fundamental reason is that all grounds for hope have disappeared.

I believe they have all disappeared. In the next era, politicians must not only invest money but also revive the sparks of hope in society fundamentally. Therefore, I apologize to those in the current system, but I believe a revolutionary change is needed for all of you. Those of you here are relatively young. And being young isn't necessarily good; many young people are addicted to power. In fact, there are many young people who conform to vested interests.

Therefore, we must distinguish between them. Ultimately, those who are awake, independent, think about society, and have a sense of public responsibility, regardless of age, should join hands for revolutionary change and dedicate themselves to worrying about and transforming society. I believe this is the case. Even though this might sound strange, I am verifying my thesis, and regarding Madam Kim Hae-kyung's legal studies, it was written up to a certain point. They are now launching a parliamentary investigation into spending 110,000 won on beef, and a huge number of helicopters are flying. We are in a situation where two clams were picked up simultaneously, and it's being debated whether it's a clam from the sea or a clam from the river. This was the dynamic that brought us here, with the industrialization generation and the democratization generation bickering, but conversely, because it has been prolonged, the issues that truly need to be addressed sensitively have all been relegated to the back burner.

A generation sensitive to these issues is bound to emerge. Come out. We truly believe this issue is more important. Please let us discuss this issue. We don't have the authority, nor the power. And under the current electoral system, the possibility of someone like you becoming a member of the National Assembly is 0%. You also have a direction you want to pursue, a direction you want to lead the country in. But you cannot present that direction. You can only cast one vote. You cannot play as a player. The opportunity to gain that is indeed... Of course, there can be individual differences. Therefore, issues like climate crisis, international issues, and the disappearance of local regions, where foreigners are actually moving in and living in large numbers, but we act as if there are no foreigners and do not discuss the need for foreign policy. The emergence of a generation that can sensitively address these issues is more important than ever at this juncture, and we are gathering to...

Let's try to increase the number of seats for proportional representation nationwide, or expand the district areas so that instead of electing one person, five or six people can be elected. Then, parties will nominate candidates, and instead of nominating six male candidates in their 50s and 60s, they can also nominate women, young women in their 20s, and it becomes a system that allows for some degree of proportional representation. Of course, I don't know the likelihood of success. First, let's create a crack for change to occur from now on, and if that crack appears, people with these ideas can enter it, and we can shift the political landscape in this direction. This is the movement we are currently undertaking.

Rather than the term "era's spirit," I think various values will coexist. Perhaps the synthesis of all of them will be the era's spirit. Whether it is unfortunate or fortunate, we are currently facing an era of great change. Whether we want it or not, Korean society and the world are now facing such great change. Although I am not a historian, I feel like I should be reading books related to the 19th century these days. There will undoubtedly be a period of great change.

Therefore, the roles of politics, economic actors, and civil society are all facing completely different challenges, and it is difficult to find answers. I am very concerned about progressive parties these days. There are too many problems that cannot be explained by what has been done so far. For the past 20 to 30 years, we could operate and exist with just this, and workers could exist. But now, that is difficult. Do you know where the most depressing Labor Day in Korea is? Companies are disappearing. It's been a long time since they stopped holding rallies there. So, what did they survive on next?

They survived by making gold bars. Gold bars, and so on. This is something that needs to be budgeted in the National Assembly, but... So, many labor unions and civil society organizations are in this position. The world is changing too fast, and that seems to be the situation. So, what will we do? I believe citizens have a role to play. Please support those who are being oppressed in each party. Please send a warm gaze to those who are being kicked out. Only then will they have the courage to challenge again for change. Like Don Quixote, even if the giant seems unbreakable, it keeps going. Lee Dong-hak of the Democratic Party has been confronting the mainstream system for 10 years like a bull.

There is immense pressure. Vested interests are not soft; they are a fearsome and powerful force that exerts great pressure. If vested interests could be dismantled so easily with a few words or a few challenges, they wouldn't be vested interests. That's what vested interests are. A fierce challenge and a sharp struggle will occur, and I believe it is occurring. And I believe that the next three to four years—2024, 2025, 2026, 2027—will be a period when existing systems, powers, and other forces in Korean society will be sharply impacted by change.

Personally, I believe that politics should also have an attitude. I wish it were a bit more affectionate. Honestly, I wish citizens were a bit more affectionate too. Relationships are becoming too harsh. Politics should be affectionate, and citizens should be affectionate towards each other. There is a need for politics and parties to be more affectionate. When we criticize others with words, it's not like that. Perhaps the next politics, the politics I hope for, will be... Very simply put, it will no longer call the opponent pro-Japanese military dictators or pro-communist leftists. It will no longer be called a servant of capital or a conglomerate's power. This is how each party calls each other.

When they no longer call each other by those names, they criticize each other with different words. It's not those words. In the past, these were the most vulgar words. Do you know what all of this is? If you line up the words that Korean citizens dislike the most, from 1st to 11th place, and play a matching game, these words will come out: conglomerates, pro-Japanese, military dictators, pro-communist leftists. Politics that calls each other by the words citizens dislike the most can then change.