▲ Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province
Governor Kim Dong-yeon of Gyeonggi Province stated today (28th) that “the Blue House, Ministry of Finance, and the Prosecution—the three major power institutions of South Korea—need to break their entrenched privileges.”
Governor Kim, regarded as a non-Lee Jae-myung presidential contender within the Democratic Party, made this assertion ahead of his meeting with Representative Lee Jae-myung. He posted a message and video on social media titled “Korea should be a republic of opportunity, not privilege.”
Governor Kim suggested that “the Blue House should eliminate its chief advisors’ offices and slim down to about 100 members, one-fifth the current size, to function as a project organization rather than an ‘imperial court’ exercising control over ministries.”
He particularly emphasized that “the next president should start work immediately in Sejong, where the ministries are located, to quickly move away from Yongsan, which was built up as an ‘illegal den of treason.'”
Alongside this, he called for limiting presidential veto and pardon powers and transforming the Presidential Security Service into a national guard under the National Police Agency.
Governor Kim further claimed that “the Ministry of Finance and the prosecution need to undergo a reorganization to the level of dismantling,” suggesting a division of budget functions into a Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning Office model, and a complete separation of investigation and prosecution in the prosecution service, turning it into a ‘Bureau of Prosecutions.’
Additionally, he proposed measures to dismantle the entrenched ‘privilege cartel’ within the public sector and legal circles, such as prohibiting high-ranking officials and judges from joining major law firms for five years after retirement, banning judges and prosecutors from running for elected positions for three years after retiring, and abolishing the Grade 5 civil service exam.
He recalled the pledge for political reform made in the coalition process during the 2022 presidential election with Democratic Party Representative Lee Jae-myung, and advocated for the introduction of a recall system for members of the National Assembly, the abolition of immunity from arrest and speech, the introduction of a runoff for presidential elections, loosening the criteria for forming negotiation groups to ten seats, and eliminating political party subsidies.
Governor Kim stated, “If the ‘privileged structure’ pervasive in power institutions, public service, and politics continues as is, South Korea won’t have a future for the next 30 years. Breaking these privileges is the path to completing the ‘Revolution of Light.'” He added, “Now is the precise moment to ‘reset’ South Korea, having exposed the bare face of entrenched privileges.”
(Photo from Kim Dong-yeon TV screen capture, Yonhap News)