People Power Party floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik [Yonhap]
People Power Party floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik [Yonhap]

People Power Party floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik said Friday that Cheong Wa Dae policy chief Kim Yong-beom "deserves to be dismissed for the single mistake of pushing through single-stock leveraged ETFs alone."

In a Facebook post that day, Jeong said the president "cannot earn public trust on economic policy as long as Kim Yong-beom remains in a key position," adding, "It tells you something when even members of the Democratic Party are calling for him to be held accountable."

Jeong criticized Kim for blaming retail investors' risk appetite for the volatility that followed the Kospi's sharp plunge last July, despite what he described as clear evidence that single-stock leveraged ETFs were a primary cause. "I've seen plenty of government officials make excuses for bad policy, but this is the first time I've seen someone pin their own mistakes on the public," Jeong said.

Jeong also took aim at Kim's proposal for an "AI national dividend," calling it "an extreme argument to use corporate performance as fuel for populist policy." He further noted that Kim had drawn public outrage in May by describing high interest rates, high inflation and a weak won as "the cost of success."

"Kim Yong-beom is already a villain for the Korean economy — not a policy chief but a chief of policy failures," Jeong said. "Entrusting him again with measures for people's livelihoods is a declaration of war on the public. The president should choose: Kim Yong-beom or the people."


mp1256@heraldcorp.com