Kim Min-seok, chairman of the Democratic Party, is setting up 10 special bodies known as "Mega-10" to drive internal reform. The plan is to closely manage major issues facing the party and the country, ranging from mega-projects and regional growth to nomination reform, party reform, constitutional revision, financial and stock-market improvements, and youth policy.
Kim announced the makeup and leadership of the Mega-10 reform bodies at a briefing at the National Assembly on the 25th. On the 26th, he plans to form a team of special advisers, and he aims to complete the remaining appointments, including general party posts, by the end of this week.
The first of the bodies is the Special Committee on Mega-Projects and Regional Growth Support. Kim said it "combines the existing mega-project support committee with the regional-led growth committee represented by the '5 Poles, 3 Special Zones' concept." The key is that it now covers regions left out of earlier regional-growth plans, such as Seoul and northern Gyeonggi Province.
Kim will concurrently chair the growth committee, while Rep. Lee Kwang-jae will serve as chief vice chairman and take practical overall charge. Kim Kyoung-soo, former chairman of the Regional Era Committee, will serve as standing vice chairman, Rep. Lee Un-ju as vice chairman, and Rep. Chang Chul-min as secretary.
Regional heads were also assigned. Rep. Heo Young will handle Gangwon, Rep. Kim Young-bae will handle Seoul, Rep. Yoon Hu-duk will handle northern Gyeonggi, and Rep. Heo Jong-sik will handle Incheon. Former Rep. Kim Doo-kwan will oversee the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region, Rep. Lim Mi-ae will oversee Daegu and North Gyeongsang, Rep. Ahn Ho-young will oversee North Jeolla, and Rep. Ahn Do-geol will jointly handle Gwangju and South Jeolla with Song Hyeong-gon, chairman of the Gwangju Metropolitan Council. Rep. Bok Ki-wang will handle the Chungcheong region. For Gwangju and South Jeolla in particular, Kim laid out a plan to push forward mega-projects through a governance approach involving the central government, local governments, local councils and civil society.
The second is the Nomination Reform Task Force, led by Rep. Shin Jeong-hun. It will gather problems raised over nominations during the recent local elections and by-elections and improve the party's system-based nomination process. It will also be responsible for preparing a new nomination plan by the end of this year for use in future by-elections, general elections and local elections. Kim said, "The process of drawing up the nomination plan will go through sufficient deliberation, and if necessary, we are also considering putting it to a vote of all party members."
The third is the Party Reform Task Force, led by former chairman Kim Kyoung-soo. It will have three subcommittees: deliberative democracy (led by Kim Kyoung-soo), an AI party (led by Lim Moon-young) and debate culture (led by Lee Yong-sun). It will guarantee party members diverse information, authority and opportunities for debate, and explore AI-based party operations and deliberative democracy. It will also push for guidelines and revisions to party rules and bylaws to curb online abuse, fake news and a culture of derogatory labels within the party.
The fourth, the Constitutional Revision Task Force, is led by Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon. Kim said it will serve to create a venue where the public and the rival parties can discuss various constitutional agenda items, including enshrining the spirit of the May 18 democratization movement in the constitution's preamble, reforming the National Election Commission, and restructuring the power structure.
The fifth is the "Friday Night Politics Alley." Rep. Park Jie-won will serve as head and Rep. Lee Hong-kyu as secretary. It will systematize lawmakers' local activities, gather policy ideas from the field, and select a weekly "Best 5." The aim is to link lawmakers' local activities to party-level policy.
The sixth is the Task Force for Improving Financial, Stock-Market and Economic Systems for the AI Transition, headed by former Rep. Lee Yong-woo, formerly of Kakao. It will prepare measures to improve systems in the financial, stock-market and economic fields and will bring in additional experts from inside and outside the National Assembly.
The seventh, the "Culture It Hallyu Politics National Youth Culture Festival Task Force," is headed by Lee Won-jong, chairman of the Culture and Arts Special Committee. The plan is to bundle youth culture festivals across the country — including the Kim Kwang-seok Youth Culture Festival in Daegu, the Kim Min-ki Youth Culture Festival in Iksan, North Jeolla, the Busan Sea Youth Culture Festival, the Yeongju Youth Culture Festival in Gangwon, and the Jirisan Youth Culture Festival — into a new youth and culture platform for the party.
The eighth is the U.S.-China-Japan Party Diplomacy Task Force. Rep. Park Jeong will serve as head and Rep. Hong Ki-won as deputy head. Kim said he will strengthen party diplomacy, including pursuing a visit to the United States in October ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.
The ninth, the "10s-30s Youth Policy Group," will operate under co-heads Rep. Kim Han-kyu and Rep. Jeon Eun-su. It was set up as a policy-focused organization separate from the existing Youth Committee and University Student Committee. The group will include veteran lawmakers specializing in fields related to youth issues, such as finance, welfare and industry.
The 10th and last is the Second Gwanghwamun Office Task Force. Rep. Kim Young-bae was added as a co-head alongside the existing head, Rep. Mo Kyoung-jong. The plan is to create a space in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, for town-hall meetings and cultural exchange for young people and citizens, and to later expand it into regional town-hall spaces at each of the party's provincial and municipal chapters.
Kim said, "We will make sure all committees can hold their first meetings by next Monday," adding, "After that, all the bodies will get started at the same time."
