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PPP floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik speaks at an on-site Supreme Council meeting calling for a veto of the "bad law" abolishing prosecutors' supplementary investigative power, held in front of the fountain at the former presidential office site in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 3rd. / Reporter Song Eui-ju

People Power Party floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik criticized Presidential Chief Policy Officer Kim Yong-beom on the 7th as "a villain to Korea's economy," calling for his immediate dismissal.

In a Facebook post that day, Jeong said, "Chief Kim's push to introduce single-stock leveraged ETFs alone should be grounds for dismissal," adding, "As the official in charge of economic policy, he has consistently shown himself to be unqualified for the role."

Citing Kim's earlier proposal for an "AI Citizens' Dividend," Jeong called it an extreme argument that would turn corporate profits into kindling for populist policy, asking, "Is he Korea's chief policy officer, or Venezuela's?"

Jeong also took issue with Kim's past remarks. Regarding Kim's comment that high interest rates, high inflation, and a weak currency were "the cost of success," Jeong said that even as the entire public cries out under the burden of these "three highs," Kim's self-congratulatory tone recalled a line from the classic Korean tale Chunhyangjeon about corrupt officials — that where the singing rings loudest, the people's grievances cry loudest too.

On Kim's attribution of the Kospi's sharp swings to "retail investor dynamism," Jeong said, "I've seen government officials make excuses for bad policy plenty of times, but this is the first time I've seen one pin the blame for his own mistakes on the public."

Jeong said, "Chief Kim is already a villain to Korea's economy — not a chief policy officer, but a chief blunder officer," adding, "No chief policy officer in any past administration has been this notorious. Our citizens may not know the name of the deputy prime minister for the economy, but they all know the name of the chief policy officer."

He then called on President Lee Jae-myung to dismiss Kim, saying, "As long as the president keeps Kim in a position of trust, the public cannot have confidence in economic policy. I hope the president chooses between Chief Kim and the people."

                                                                                                           Kim Dong-wook