Kim Min-seok to personally oversee mega projects, with U.S. visit planned for October

[Financial News] Kim Min-seok, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said on the 25th that the party will launch a new "Mega Growth Special Committee" and that he will personally serve as its chair. The body will oversee the three major mega projects, including a 800 trillion won semiconductor investment in Honam, as well as growth led by local regions. Kim said he would take direct command to support the mega projects, one of the key policy goals of the Lee Jae-myung administration.
Kim announced the appointments for 10 party bodies, including the Mega Growth Special Committee, at the National Assembly that day.
The committee will discuss the mega projects and policies for growth led by local regions, including Seoul and northern Gyeonggi Province. Kim will lead it, while the chief vice chair, who will handle day-to-day coordination, will be Rep. Lee Kwang-jae, chair of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts.
Former South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyung-soo, who once chaired the Presidential Committee for the Era of Local Autonomy under President Lee Jae-myung, will serve as standing vice chair. Rep. Lee Eon-ju, who has expertise in industrial policy such as semiconductors, will be a vice chair. Rep. Jang Chul-min, the party's secretary at the National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee, will serve as secretary. The committee will also set up regional subcommittees, with Rep. Kim Young-bae, who chairs the Seoul city party, leading the Seoul unit.
A task force to improve finance, stock market, and economic systems for the AI transition will also be launched. Former Rep. Lee Yong-woo, a former CEO of KakaoBank, has been named to head it. It is expected to operate separately from the K-Capital Markets Special Committee.
A task force for party diplomacy with the U.S., China, and Japan, which Kim had previously announced, will also be formed. Rep. Park Jeong will lead it, and Rep. Hong Ki-won, the party's secretary on the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, will serve as deputy head. While announcing the plan, Kim said he would visit the United States in October. "Ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, we will pursue diplomacy with both the White House and the ruling and opposition parties," he said.
A constitutional revision task force, led by Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon, will also be established. The move comes as President Lee recently proposed a constitutional amendment for a four-year consecutive term system, and Speaker of the National Assembly Cho Jeong-sik has also expressed support for pushing revision next year. Kim said the party would drive the effort at the ruling party level. He added that the party has not fixed a specific model for restructuring the power system, but said, "We have a broad direction and outline, and we want to share that with the public and expand dialogue between the ruling and opposition parties." The Democratic Party of Korea previously pursued a constitutional amendment for a four-year consecutive term system during the Moon Jae-in administration.
The party will also create a task force for the nationwide youth cultural festival, "Culture Hara" and Hallyu politics, which will explore support measures for youth cultural festivals across the country. Actor-turned-politician Lee Won-jong, who co-chairs the party's special committee on culture and the arts, will head the group.
The party will also set up bodies aimed at reforming itself. First, the Second Gwanghwamun Party Headquarters Task Force, led by Rep. Kim Young-bae and Rep. Mo Kyung-jong, will push a project to establish a second central party headquarters in Gwanghwamun. The goal is to secure a place where the party can engage more closely with young people and ordinary citizens.
A nomination reform task force led by Rep. Shin Jeong-hoon and a party reform task force led by former Governor Kim will also be launched. By the end of the year, the party plans to prepare a nomination system that will apply to next year's by-elections, the 2028 general election, and the 2030 local elections, while also considering ways to strengthen member sovereignty beyond the one-member, one-vote system.
The Friday Politics Alley Livelihood Task Force, headed by five-term veteran Rep. Park Jie-won, aims to systematize activities across the country and increase contact with local residents every Friday. The 1030 Youth Policy Task Force will be led by young lawmakers Kim Han-gyu and Jeon Eun-su to develop youth policies.
[email protected] Kim Yun-ho, Song Ji-won Reporter