Kim Kyung-soo, former Governor of Gyeongsangnam-do, who is running in the Democratic Party of Korea’s 21st presidential election primary, paid a visit to former President Moon Jae-in on the 14th. This is his first official schedule after announcing his candidacy for the presidential election. Former President Moon told former Governor Kim, “We must unite the democratic forces to achieve a change of government, and afterward, the administration should be managed with the power of cooperation.”
◇Moon “We must join forces with the democratic forces” Kim “a coalition of light”
Former Governor Kim, who is considered a ‘pro-Moon (pro-Moon Jae-in) successor,’ paid his respects at the graves of late Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun and then went to meet former President Moon in Pyeongsan Village, Yangsan, Gyeongnam. After the visit, he told reporters, “He conveyed his hope that we should work well together in the primary.”
Former Governor Kim said, “I expressed my regret that the political forces involved in the impeachment during the Moon Jae-in administration should have participated in the coalition in the cabinet,” and added, “Former President Moon also shared my sentiment that it would have been nice if he had pursued the coalition in that direction.” He also noted, “The ‘coalition of light’ that I mentioned is in that context.”
He also expressed his position regarding former lawmaker Kim Du-kwan, who decided not to participate in the Democratic Party primary. Former Governor Kim said, “I wish this had been managed well at the party level to prevent such occurrences,” but added, “The spirit of this election era is for all democratic forces to unite to achieve an overwhelming change of government, end civil strife, and promote constitutional amendments.” While he raised procedural issues with the confirmation of the rules, he decided to participate in the primary.
Earlier, the Democratic Party confirmed the method of selecting the presidential candidate by combining ‘50% party member voting and 50% general public opinion polls.’ Although non-mainstream candidates protested that this method was “beneficial only for former representative Lee Jae-myung,” it was decided internally without official negotiations among the candidates. In the past, voting rights were granted to a gathered electorate composed of the general public, whereas now, 50% of the voting rights are prioritized for party members classified as the ‘Lee Jae-myung fandom.’
Former Governor Kim stated regarding the campaign organization, “We will avoid the method of lining up current lawmakers.” This seems to consider the fact that it is difficult to expect current lawmakers to participate in the campaign given the situation where former representative Lee Jae-myung has seized control of the party. The Kim Kyung-soo campaign is composed of about 70 staff members in their 30s and 40s, without any current lawmakers.
◇Lee ‘Judicial risk’ and ‘dislikable’ remain… Non-mainstream faction's hopes high
In the political arena, attention is focused on the movement of the non-mainstream factions within the opposition. It remains to be seen whether pro-Moon successor Kim Kyung-soo can become a focal point for the non-mainstream faction. During the last general elections, the non-mainstream faction was effectively purged from the party. During this process, a loyalty competition between ‘pro-May and true May’ factions occurred. This indicates that Lee Jae-myung’s influence is significant.
However, former representative Lee Jae-myung’s judicial risk still persists, and the ‘Lee Jae-myung phobia’ among moderates is notably significant. There are concerns about the former representative, who monopolized legislative power, also seizing administrative and judicial power. Former Governor Kim's camp hopes that this sentiment will shift towards the non-mainstream faction during the primary process. Currently, among the non-mainstream faction, both former Governor Kim and Kim Dong-yeon have expressed their intention to participate in the Democratic Party primary.