Former FSS deputy governor named to head DP's innovation committee

Kim Eun-kyung [YONHAP]

Kim Eun-kyung, a law professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and former deputy governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, has been picked as the Democratic Party’s innovation chief.

DP spokesman Kwon Chil-seung said Kim was picked to head a new committee that will spearhead the party’s reform drive due to her personal commitments to principles and reform.

The DP spokesman said the party’s leadership, including its chief Lee Jae-myung, has agreed to accept reforms proposed by the committee.

“She is also considered a fresh face as she has been uninvolved in politics,” Kwon said.

Kim’s appointment came more than a week after the party’s leader Lee made a surprise announcement by picking longtime progressive political activist Lee Rae-kyung to head the party’s innovation committee.

However, Lee Rae-kyung quit just nine hours later after past social media posts surfaced, including one that claimed the South Korean Navy corvette ROKS Cheonan was not torpedoed by North Korea, but instead blew itself up to fan conflict between the two Koreas at the behest of the United States.

The posting of the conspiracy met with immediate public backlash, further burdening a party already mired in several controversies.

The party has lately had to let some of its party members go, including two representatives accused of bribery related to the party’s convention in 2021 and Rep. Kim Nam-kuk, who is accused of dodgy cryptocurrency trading.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]