Kim Jongmin: "Roh Moo-hyun's life cannot be shaken for approval ratings... Han Donghoon, let's debate people's lives"

"Han Needs to Reflect First"
"Politics Is a Competition for Trust"

Rep. Kim Jongmin, who served as a spokesperson for the Blue House under the Roh Moo-hyun administration, criticized the political dispute surrounding the late former President Roh, saying, "Roh Moo-hyun's life is not something that can be used to boost approval ratings."

Rep. Kim Jongmin. Rep. Kim's office.

In a Facebook post on October 8, Rep. Kim said, "Politics is a competition for trust," adding, "You cannot win public support by courting popularity." He was stating his position on Rep. Han Dong-hoon's recent references to former President Roh for five consecutive days.

Rep. Kim described Rep. Han's opposition to former President Yoon Suk Yeol's emergency martial law as "the right thing to do," but said it was a separate matter from evaluating his political past. Regarding the former prosecutorial power that Kim called "political prosecutors," he argued, "Opposing martial law is not a pardon that wipes away all past wrongs."

He also said, "There must be reflection and repentance for him to be reborn from 'prosecutorial enforcer Han Dong-hoon' as 'politician Han Dong-hoon,'" arguing that Han, a politician who came from the prosecution, needs to reflect on his past conduct.

Rep. Kim stressed that politics should not be limited to a competition for power. "The purpose of politics is not to win a power struggle, but to change people's lives," he said, adding that politics must address the realities facing young people, workers and local communities.

In particular, he raised the examples of "young people who receive their first paycheck in their 30s" and "the lives of subcontractor workers, even if the AI and semiconductor industries generate hundreds of trillions of won in profits," calling them "questions that politics must answer."

He then stressed that politicians should compete over people's lives rather than engage in disputes surrounding former President Roh. Rep. Kim proposed, "Let's hold an all-out debate about people's lives and future, not 'taking aim at Roh Moo-hyun.'"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.