Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik’s presence in the political arena is expanding as he gains public attention.

For the public, Kim’s image improved significantly during the memorial service for the two marines who died in last year’s shelling of Yeonpyeongdo, held at the Daejeon National Cemetery on Nov. 23.

With such events having only upgraded to a national ceremony in 2008, the presence of a prime minister at a memorial was a rare enough occurrence, but his demeanor and actions during the event put him under the spotlight.

At the event, Kim stood in the rain throughout the ceremony despite his attendants offering umbrellas. He was seen to be shedding tears when poems written in honor of the dead marines were read out, and he went to visit the graves of the two marines once the ceremony was over.

Kim has also shown a side that lives up to the words “communication and dialogue” that are often repeated by various politicians.

According to Prime Minister’s Office officials, Kim is known for listening to reports to the end, and making a decision based on all the known facts.

During a recent visit to the Gachon University in Gyeonggi Province, he emphasized the importance of listening for leaders. At the time he told the students that leadership arises from listening more than talking and trying to see eye-to-eye with others.

A former Supreme Court justice, Kim has displayed a knack for mediating between opposing groups while serving as the prime minister.

Earlier this year he was tasked with resolving issues surrounding a planned airport in the southeastern part of the country, and since then his office was given the role of drawing up the modified presidential decree on the enforcement of the Criminal Procedure Act.

While the version drawn up by his office is inciting severe criticism from the police, completing the decree was a difficult process that required Kim to persuade Police Commissioner General Cho Hyun-Oh at the last minute.

Cho is reported to have come to Kim to deliver his agency’s opposition to the plan drawn up by the Prime Minister’s Office a day before its announcement. At the meeting, Kim is said to have fully listened to Cho’s position, and persuaded the police chief, saying that the issue needs to be “considered not from the point of view of the organization, but from that of the public.”

By Choi He-suk
(cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)