In "Profiles in Courage," written by U.S. President John F. Kennedy, eight senators appear. The courageous people Kennedy describes are those who act according to their political convictions, not party interests, even if their future is at risk.
Kim Yong-tae (36), a lawmaker in the People Power Party known as part of the so-called "young reformers," mentioned Kennedy's book and said, "I want to be a person of courage, too." Kim has been on a fast track to success at a young age, serving as the party's top youth member in 2021, winning a constituency seat in 2024, and becoming emergency committee chair in 2025. But recently, with the "courage to be disliked," he has become the young politician who speaks the most bluntly about internal party issues.
◇ "President Lee has looked only to the base for six months"
Looking back on 2025, Kim called it "a year when political extremism and polarization peaked." He saw polarization among political forces—centered on the Democratic Party of Korea's "gae-ddal (daughters of reform)" and the People Power Party's "Yoon Again"—as more severe than ever, and said that in the meantime the lives of ordinary people and young people have become harsher. Kim proposed "political reform" as the solution. We met the 1990-born young politician on Dec. 29 at the National Assembly Members' Office Building to hear his ideas on political reform. Kim is one of the representative "year of the horse" politicians.
Kim believed national unity has not been achieved since the Lee Jae-myung administration was launched. He meant that the "settling of insurrection" pushed by the government and ruling party after President Lee Jae-myung took office led the public into division.
He said, "Our society is still divided into two camps by the wound of martial law, each shouting its own voice," and added, "But over the past six months, what President Lee Jae-myung has shown was essentially politics only for the base, which is regrettable. As a president who must unify the people, the expressions 'settling insurrection' and 'punishment' are not appropriate."
Meanwhile, young people's hope for the future was disappearing. Kim said, "I'm 36 this year, and when I talk to my friends, I feel a strong sense of urgency that they've fallen behind because they couldn't buy a home after their loans were cut off by the Oct. 15 real estate measures," and added, "While the Democratic Party extended the retirement age, discussions on structural reform of the National Pension were not properly conducted, leaving young people in a situation where their rice bowls are taken away and they are losing hope for the future."
◇ Conservatives need change… 'election and nomination reform' must be achieved
The solution Kim presented is growth. He stressed that for Korea to grow, the conservative party must change. He recounted a story from a June 2025 visit to the Daebul Industrial Complex in Mokpo, South Jeolla. When foreign workers at Daebul, home to shipbuilders focused on mid-sized vessels, saw their pay capped by the 52-hour workweek, they were leaving for sweet potato farms in Haenam, South Jeolla, which pay by the day. Because the "labor flexibility" conservatives always emphasize was not secured, shipbuilding lost out to sweet potato fields.
Why couldn't the conservative political camp fix the 52-hour workweek? Kim assessed that politicians are more interested in nominations than policy. Since one commonly must "line up correctly" to get nominated, policy competitiveness has been sidelined. He also said this problem occurs as a matter of routine in major parties on both sides. Citing the popular Netflix series "Culinary Class Wars," Kim said politicians should be like chefs who constantly research to move their guests.
Kim said, "Korean politics relies more on strategic nominations and single-candidate nominations than primaries, so if you cross the party leader and president when in power, or the party leadership when in opposition, you're 'out,'" and added, "If we introduce an 'open primary' like in the United States and let local voters choose National Assembly candidates, then at least those seeking to become lawmakers will pretend to listen to voters."
Kim was hoping to pursue at least some "political reform" in next year's local elections. He said, "As a National Assembly member from Gyeonggi Province, I want to achieve political reform within Gyeonggi in next year's local elections," and added, "There has been a practice of nominating people who bring in money when exercising nomination rights, but I want to break that and carefully choose public servants who will work in the community."
He continued, "If election reform and nomination reform are achieved, I think Korean politics will be upgraded by one level," and emphasized, "If people cheer more for politicians in each party who think rationally rather than those who engage in extreme politics to churn out volatile news with sensational issues, politicians will change."