Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party presidential candidate, announced the '10 major pledges for the presidential election' focusing on 'growth led by freedom,' 'advancing to the top 3 nations in AI (artificial intelligence),' and national expansion of GTX (urban rapid transit).
The People Power Party noted on the 12th that Candidate Kim submitted 'new 10 pledges for a great Korea' to the National Election Commission.
◇ Reduce regulations such as corporate tax and inheritance tax and expand autonomy in working hours and retirement age systems
Candidate Kim has confirmed 'growth led by freedom, a country good for corporations' as his first pledge. The People Power Party explained that this reflects a vision of achieving new growth and prosperity through 'three major innovations in capital, technology, and labor' during a time of economic crisis due to the U.S.-China trade war and domestic political turmoil.
To this end, the plan is to first eliminate various regulations related to corporations and significantly strengthen support. He stated that the corporate tax will be lowered from 24% to 21% and the inheritance tax from 50% to 30% for companies that create jobs. He also promised to establish a Comprehensive Corporate Investment Support Center that provides support for infrastructure, intellectual property, technology, burdens, and taxes as a package. Additionally, he will assign a senior official in the presidential office to facilitate communication with corporations. Furthermore, Kim, formerly a worker in a clothing factory in Cheonggyecheon, emphasized labor innovation, stating, 'We will enhance labor productivity.' He pledged to gradually expand the current system of working hours managed on a weekly basis through negotiations between labor and management to monthly, quarterly, and annually and to grant corporations autonomy regarding retirement age systems.
◇ Leap to become a top 3 nation in AI… Promote mega cities through national expansion of GTX
Candidate Kim stated, 'We will make Korea a technological superpower,' presenting 'a leap to become a top 3 nation in AI and energy' as his second pledge. He stated plans to strengthen support for AI university education and expand research and development support to nurture 200,000 young talents in AI. Furthermore, he mentioned the creation of a public-private joint fund worth 100 trillion won, with participation from global corporations, to support AI unicorn companies.
He also promised to designate 10 new technologies (artificial intelligence, AI semiconductors, secondary batteries, biohealth, mobility, quantum technology, robotics, aerospace technology, carbon-neutral green energy, cybersecurity) as national strategic projects for extensive support, including regulatory relaxation.
Additionally, Kim pledged to expand the GTX (urban rapid transit) that he initially proposed and promoted during his tenure as the Governor of Gyeonggi Province to five major metropolitan areas nationwide, creating a 'national express rail network.' This plan aims to promote balanced regional development and activate future strategic industries through mega cities in ultra-wide metropolitan areas.
Specifically, the plan is to open all GTX A, B, and C lines in the capital region during the presidential term and begin construction on D, E, and F lines. He also promised to actively support the extension of GTX A, B, and C lines to promote the Dongtan-Cheongju Airport urban rapid transit connecting the capital and Chungcheong. He pledged to promote the establishment of GTX networks in five major metropolitan areas across the country, focusing on Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam, Daejeon-Chungcheong, Daegu-Gyeongbuk, Gwangju-Jeonnam, and others.
◇ Introduction of '3·3·3 youth housing supply and the implementation of stepping stone income…' 'Realizing reliable lifelong welfare'
Candidate Kim presented 'a country where youth grow, a future opens for Korea' as his third pledge. The People Power Party explained that this reflects the strong commitment of the candidate to have the government take responsibility for solving youth issues.
As a representative measure, he proposed the '3·3·3 youth housing supply plan' to resolve the housing difficulties faced by young people. This plan supports housing costs for a total of nine years: three years for marriage, three years for the first child, and three years for the second child, promising to supply 100,000 youth dwellings annually. He also put forth the 'half-price rent zone' initiative to significantly lower monthly rent by increasing the supply of studio apartments through relaxing floor area ratio and building coverage ratio regulations in university areas. A plan is also in place to construct and supply more than 10% of public housing tailored to single-person households, actively tackling the housing issues faced by young people.
He also stated that he would implement 'lifelong welfare' supporting everyone from youth to pregnancy, maternity, and elder care. To this end, he indicated that 25% of new public housing will be specially supplied as 'inter-generational coexistence' apartments equipped with medical and care facilities. This aims to create a new housing form that allows couples who have given birth and their parents to live together.
Support for infertile couples and pregnant women will also be significantly increased. Previously, the People Power Party announced pledges at the party level, including ▲health insurance support for the collection and freezing of reproductive cells, ▲installing at least one infertility and psychological counseling center for pregnant women in each metropolitan area, and ▲raising the support fund for multiple births to 1.3 million won.
Additionally, a new pledge of establishing the 'Our Child's First Step Account System' will be pursued, which provides at least 100,000 won to parents with children under 17 years old on a one-to-one matching basis. Alongside this, the representative brand policy of Seoul City, 'stepping stone income,' will be introduced nationwide to strengthen the safety net for vulnerable groups among the welfare blind spots. Stepping stone income is a income guarantee system that fills half of the household income shortage compared to the standard income with cash. Previously, Candidate Kim promised to expand this program nationwide, stating, 'Seoul City has implemented it for three years, and we have seen results, so we can safely implement it immediately across the country' when he met with Oh Se-hoon, the Mayor of Seoul, who announced not to run in the presidential election last month.
In addition, pledges to support middle-class income and asset growth were included, such as the introduction of an inflation-linked comprehensive income tax, expanding tax support for ISA (individual savings accounts), separating the taxation of dividends, and abolishing the excess profit recovery system for redevelopment.
◇ Abolish the parliamentary privilege of immunity from arrest and abolish the CIO…' Introduction of military service credit system'
Candidate Kim has expressed his commitment to reform political, judicial, and election systems to eradicate corruption in public office. Specifically, he presented plans to ▲abolish the parliamentary privilege of immunity from arrest, ▲establish a crime of judicial obstruction, ▲allow audits by the National Election Commission, ▲abolish the CIO, and ▲revert the intelligence agency's investigative authority. However, the 'abolishment of the advance voting system' that Kim has emphasized was not included in the 10 major pledges.
He also promised to enhance the treatment of the military, which is dedicated to the country. This includes improving military service conditions and allowances, introducing a military service credit system, expanding the officer corps system, and improving the treatment of junior officers through the realization of various allowances.
◇ Strengthen deterrence against North Korean nuclear threats, including the development of nuclear-powered submarines
In the security sector, he promised 'robust national security' through strengthening the South Korea-U.S. alliance and enhancing deterrence against North Korean nuclear threats. Candidate Kim has emphasized that 'there must be more fundamental and stringent measures against North Korea's realistic nuclear and missile threats.'
Candidate Kim stated that based on the South Korea-U.S. alliance, he would promote ▲the permanent stationing of U.S. strategic assets, ▲substantiate joint South Korea-U.S. nuclear and conventional integrated (CNI) training, and ▲add a 'nuclear attack protection clause' to the South Korea-U.S. defense treaty.
Along with this, he promised to further strengthen the current Korean three-axis system to secure preemptive deterrence capabilities and enhance nuclear potential through the revision of the South Korea-U.S. nuclear cooperation agreement to acquire uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing technology equivalent to that of Japan. He also stated that he would re-promote the development of nuclear-powered submarines, which had previously stalled during the Kim Young-sam and Roh Moo-hyun administrations, through negotiations with the Trump administration.