First thing that Kim Jong-in did after he became the interim leader of the main opposition party Thursday was to breach a bipartisan agreement.

The Minjoo Party of Korea agreed with the ruling Saenuri Party on Jan. 23 to pass two bills, one on revitalizing the economy and the other on North Korean human rights. But Kim decided to break the deal.

It was disappointing, given that he had sharply pointed out the deep-rooted problems of the main opposition party after taking over the party’s leadership from Rep. Moon Jae-in.

Kim said, “(Lawmakers of the Minjoo Party) should not practice politics in the same fashion as student activists do.” It was a rebuke to the party’s radical, self-righteous legislators with backgrounds in student activism, who have often refused to compromise with the ruling party, causing parliamentary deadlocks.

He also said that the party has still not broken away from the old ways of thinking that its members had while fighting against military dictatorships in the past.

As Kim openly criticized the excessive ideology and radicalism among the party’s legislators, he was expected to show a different kind of politics. Yet his actions are not much different from the unreasonable obstructionism that characterized Moon’s leadership. He joined the party’s radical lawmakers in breaking the agreement.

One reason they cited was that the bill on revitalizing the economy would actually benefit large conglomerates. The bill is intended to facilitate restructuring of Korea’s major industries, such as shipbuilding and steelmaking, which are in trouble due to excess capacity. It proposes to provide support to companies if they downsize their operations, increase productivity, and eliminate oversupply.

As such, the bill is not so much intended to support chaebol affiliates as to prevent Korea’s major industries from getting into trouble due to contracting global demand.

Kim and other Minjoo Party legislators should realize that if big firms in Korea’s key industries suffer, the myriad small firms that supply parts and components to them also face difficulties.

They are also advised not to turn a blind eye to the signature collection drive promoted by economic organizations and civic groups to pressure the National Assembly to pass bills related to people’s livelihoods. They should ponder why the number of citizens participating in the drive is increasing rapidly.