Democratic Party Leadership Candidate Kim Bo-mi Calls for 'Generational Change of Authority'

Kim Bo-mi, the sole candidate under 40 vying for the leadership of South Korea's Democratic Party, is urging a fundamental shift within the party, emphasizing a "generational change of authority" over mere symbolic youth representation. In an interview with Hankyoreh, the 37-year-old candidate stressed the need for the party to transform into one that designs the future, warning that clinging to past narratives and internal factional disputes will lead to its downfall.

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We need a 'generational change of authority' where youth can actually exercise decision-making power. If we continue to delve into lineage disputes, factionalism, and talk only about the past, the Democratic Party will perish. We must transform into a party with a blueprint for the future.

Kim, a former youngest female local councilor and the youngest chairperson of a basic local council in Gangjin County, South Jeolla Province, has been a vocal critic of recent party decisions. She pointed to the failed introduction of a "youth supreme councilor system" and the controversial increase in candidate registration fees as evidence of the party's insincere approach to youth engagement. "This is perhaps the party's true feeling towards the youth," she stated, accusing the party of merely using young people as tokens.

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This is perhaps the party's true feeling towards the youth. Until now, they have only used us and treated us as mere placeholders.

She expressed skepticism about the promises of the older, more established candidates to introduce a youth supreme councilor system if elected. Kim vowed that if she becomes party leader, she would eliminate the high registration fees and make the youth supreme councilor system her top priority on day one. She also criticized the constantly changing election rules, promising to bring order to a situation where basic principles are not upheld.

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If I become party leader, I will eliminate the deposit barrier and make the introduction of a youth supreme councilor system the number one agenda item on my first day.

Kim envisions a party that moves beyond the "386 generation" (referring to activists who were in their 30s in the 1980s and are now in their 60s) and embraces a new structure centered on young people and future-oriented experts. She argued that simply appointing young people to committees without granting them real authority is insufficient. "We need to give actual 'authority' to young people themselves," she asserted, pledging to empower the party's youth committee to make decisions on youth-related policies, including a "youth employment guarantee system."

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Everyone talks about youth, but there are no young people in the party. If the generation that dominated in the 386 era intends to continue dominating until the 986 era, everything will be ruined.