Rep. Kim Sang-wook, who vocally supports Yoon's impeachment, wary of clash of ideologies, seeks to promote 'healthy conservatism'

When the ruling People Power Party staged a mass boycott of the National Assembly late last year to oppose the opposition-led bill to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, one first-term lawmaker from the conservative party chose to break ranks. Despite fierce criticism from his colleagues and risking his political career, Rep. Kim Sang-wook, a 45-year-old conservative lawmaker representing a district in Ulsan, stood firm in his convictions. And his fight has been continuing.
A lone wolf within the conservative party, Rep. Kim said he is still against what he sees as the growing threats of populism and far-right extremism. Now, with the president under arrest and awaiting a Constitutional Court ruling on his impeachment, Kim presses on, warning that the unchecked spread of populist and far-right ideals could lead to the rise of “Nazi-like forces” in the country.
"The role of a healthy conservative is to act as a shield to the threats of populism and far-right forces," the attorney-turned-lawmaker said in a written interview with The Korea Herald. "However, far-right ideologies have rooted and grown within the People Power Party recently, which led to the Dec. 3 martial law imposition, that pretend to be an act of democracy when they actually damage the spirit of democracy."
"The fear of losing voters looms over the conservative party, and if we fail to stop the further rise of populist and far-right forces, then extreme forms of societal madness such as Nazism could threaten our society," he added.
Rep. Kim's remarks come amid growing concerns that several ruling party lawmakers have associated themselves with far-right supporters of impeached President Yoon in apparent fear of losing voters. Yoon's conservative party has been struggling to earn voters' support in recent years, highlighted by wipeouts in the general election and by-elections last year to the liberal opposition.
Following the Dec. 3 martial law decree last month, several lawmakers within the ruling party, including five-term lawmaker Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun and first-term lawmaker Rep. Kim Min-jeon, have been accused of riling up Yoon's supporters to protest against law enforcement and judicial authorities regarding their moves tied to probes into insurrection charges against the impeached president.

"Even after the Dec. 3 case, the People Power Party has failed to restabilize itself on the grounds of true conservative spirit, but has only managed to make efforts to increase its popularity on the backs of supporters who are deemed as far-right and political extremists. Such efforts can disrupt society by pushing conservatives to the far-right."
Rep. Kim, relatively unknown due to his so far brief political career, first attracted media attention during the initial parliamentary vote to impeach Yoon Suk Yeol.
At the time, Kim, along with two other ruling party lawmakers, remained in the chamber while 105 of his colleagues in the 108-member People Power Party walked out in protest. Although he ultimately cast a vote against the impeachment motion, Kim was visibly emotional. Speaking to media afterward with tears in his eyes, he said he had to cast a vote against the bill in accordance with the party's stance. The motion failed to reach a quorum of 200 votes in the 300-member Assembly.
After revelations of Yoon ordering the military and police to drag out lawmakers on the night of the martial declaration on Dec. 3, however, Kim started to separate himself from the party ranks as it united to protect Yoon.
A day ahead of the second vote that led to the eventual passage of the motion, he alone wore a red sign around his neck in front of the National Assembly calling for his fellow conservative lawmakers to vote in favor of Yoon's impeachment.
Rep. Kim was then one of the 12 ruling party lawmakers who voted in favor of Yoon's impeachment.
In recent parliamentary votes, Kim has voted in favor of opposition-led bills mandating special counsel investigations into Yoon's insurrection charges tied to his martial law decree and several scandals surrounding first lady Kim Keon Hee.

Amid the ongoing political turmoil stemming from Yoon's martial law decree, which critics say poses a challenge to the country's constitutional order and democracy, it is crucial that the People Power Party does not drift away from conservative values that could help build a "fair and reasonable" society, according to Rep. Kim.
"A healthy conservative should pursue values that could build a society that is fair, reasonable, open-minded and inclusive, based on the constitutional order, democracy and order of law."
South Korea has demonstrated democratic resilience to the international society in the face of a challenge, and fostering a "spirit of healthy conservatism" could help it thrive in prosperity, Rep. Kim noted.
"South Korea has historically prospered in times when it was open-minded and politically stable, and the spirit of healthy conservatism can build a foundation for such a political state."
Before entering politics just last year, Kim worked as an attorney for a decade after passing the state bar exam in 2012. He earned his bachelor's degree in law from Korea University and Master of Law from Pusan National University. He later went on to earn a Ph.D. in law and administration from Jagiellonian University in Poland.