Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party presidential candidate, presented a blueprint for 'structural reform' on the 18th, emphasizing 'regulatory transformation' as a core economic pledge and stating that he would significantly eliminate various restrictions that hinder the vitality of the private sector.
He also outlined plans to transition the industrial structure toward future food industries, such as AI, semiconductors, tourism, and content, and to rebuild growth momentum through the creation of an economic ecosystem centered on regional balance and private vitality.
In the morning of that day, candidate Kim announced economic pledges centered on ▲ regulatory innovation ▲ infrastructure innovation ▲ future industry strategy 'transformation' at the central party office in Seoul.
He emphasized, “The reason for the current long-term, chronic low growth is structural issues. To overcome this crisis, significant economic structural reform is necessary,” and he stated, “I will certainly carry out an economic transformation that frees the economic shackles of South Korea.”
◇Creation of a regulatory innovation agency, exceptions to the 52-hour workweek, and revision of the wage system centered on job performance
Candidate Kim proposed restoring private vitality through 'regulatory innovation' as a key strategy. He stated that he would establish a 'regulatory innovation agency' that unifies the regulatory reform functions that are currently scattered across various ministries. Through this, he plans to move away from the existing complaint-based regulatory responses and create a systematic and proactive regulation maintenance system.
He also promised to push for the enactment of the 'Basic Law on Economic Innovation' to legally support regulatory innovation. This law aims to increase the predictability of corporate activities in emerging industries, such as digital, AI, and bio, and to improve regulations that apply exclusively to South Korea, ensuring that regulations not existing in other countries do not get applied here, focusing on establishing a market order based on autonomy and responsibility.
He proposed labor market flexibility as a key pillar of regulatory innovation. Candidate Kim noted, “Competent talents must work diligently. I will achieve labor reform so that everyone can freely pursue their dreams and talents,” and promised that he would improve the 52-hour rule to allow workers to focus on their work and rest as they wish.
He suggested that high-income professionals be exempted from the 52-hour workweek rule, expanding the minimum unit period of flexible working and selected working systems to at least half a year to reflect the characteristics of the job and the workers' preferences.
He also proposed relaxing the procedure for changing employment rules to reorganize the wage system into a 'performance-based wage system' that rewards workers for the amount they work. Currently, changing wages and employment rules requires the consent of the union, but he stated that he would allow this by listening to the opinions of the union and obtaining the consent of the relevant job category, even if it is not from the entire union.
He outlined plans for a decentralized regulatory relaxation strategy. Candidate Kim stated that to revitalize the local economy, he would introduce 'mega free zones' where local governments can directly lift regulations, 'white zones' that allow creative development, and 'self-regulatory innovation districts (rural free zones)' specialized for rural areas.
◇“Expansion of infrastructure for energy, science and technology, and economic security”
He positioned 'infrastructure transformation' as a key pillar of his economic pledges. This strategy involves a comprehensive restructuring that includes electricity, R&D, trade, and supply chain infrastructure that will drive the AI and semiconductor era, rather than just focusing on the construction of roads and railroads.
He specifically identified 'expansion of electricity infrastructure' as a top priority. Acknowledging the reality that developing the AI industry is difficult with renewable energy alone, he proposed an 'energy mix' strategy that nurtures gas, nuclear power, and renewable energy together. Candidate Kim stressed, “To secure industrial competitiveness, strong support for electricity infrastructure is necessary.”
For this, he promised to undoubtedly revive the nuclear power industry ecosystem through the development of small modular reactors (SMRs), restoration of the nuclear ecosystem, and maintenance of power purchase agreements (PPAs).
He stated plans to establish a 'national comprehensive development plan based on energy' to include telecommunications, railroads, roads, and electrical networks as part of the national strategic infrastructure.
He also mentioned measures to block capital outflow arising from renewable energy projects while supporting responses to RE100 and CF100 in terms of energy security and strengthening industrial competitiveness.
He emphasized the expansion of investment in science and technology infrastructure. He promised to invest more than 5% of the national budget in R&D and to invest 10 trillion won over the next five years in national strategic technology research and development. He particularly stated that he would abolish the preliminary feasibility study for R&D to reduce the research commencement period by up to three years and encourage public-private collaborative research by allowing concurrent positions in corporations.
Candidate Kim noted, “The global trade environment and order have rapidly changed since the launch of the Trump II administration. Our economy, which is highly dependent on external factors, must respond sensitively and quickly to even minor changes,” emphasizing the need to build a robust economic security infrastructure.
To this end, he announced plans to create an 'Economic Security Negotiation Headquarters' by expanding and reorganizing the Office for Trade Negotiations, establishing a supply chain stabilization fund of more than 10 trillion won annually, managing the dependency on specific countries for economic security items to below 50%, and building a public-private joint reserve system for key resources to prepare for shocks to the global supply chain.
◇“I will personally oversee AI, bio, and space strategies”
In the strategies for future industries, he defined AI, bio, quantum, and space as core growth engines and announced the establishment of a '3+1 technology committee' directly under the president. This committee will coordinate strategies in each field and establish a control tower to integrate budget, regulations, and talent policies.
First, for the AI sector, he set a goal of creating the world's best AI ecosystem, stating that he would establish AI computing centers at regional hubs and secure 100,000 GPUs to provide to corporations, universities, and research institutions.
Through this, he plans to raise the current public supply rate of 5.5% to over 50% by 2030. At the same time, he aims to train 200,000 AI talents, establish a public-private fund of 100 trillion won, and expand the adoption rates of AI in the industrial and public sectors to 70% and 95%, respectively, through an AI normalization project.
In addition to AI, he promised to designate semiconductors, future vehicles, and industrial robots as national strategic technologies, offering tailored infrastructure, flexible working systems, and tax support for strategic industries. In particular, he announced a target of supplying 100,000 humanoid robots by 2030 and having over 1,000 companies apply industrial AI, aiming to lead the transformation across the industry.
Candidate Kim pledged to also focus on fostering venture and startup ecosystems. He announced plans to significantly expand the government's venture fund to 20 trillion won by 2030 and to nurture 20,000 companies under the TIPS (Technology Incubation Program for Startups) initiative and 2,000 deep-tech startups over five years.
He proposed measures, such as expanding angel investment income tax deductions, allowing venture investments with retirement pensions, and introducing corporation growth collective investment schemes (BDCs) to encourage capital inflow.
He emphasized support for a special visa and labor cost assistance vouchers to promote participation of domestic and foreign talents in startups.
He also promised to foster the tourism and content industries as national strategic industries. Candidate Kim stated, “I will develop the cultural tourism industry as one of the national strategic industries.”
To achieve this, he plans to establish a national tourism strategy meeting chaired by the president, build arena performance spaces with capacities of 20,000 to 30,000 in five major megacities, and institutionalize urban lodging systems to improve the tourism industry. He said, “In the future, content will be power,” and that he would fully support the establishment of an AI content regulatory free zone, developing the K-content ecosystem from creation to export.
Finally, candidate Kim emphasized, “I have the experience and capability of creating the largest state-of-the-art new town and industrial complex in the metropolitan area during my time as the governor of Gyeonggi Province,” asserting, “I will become an economic president who proves through actions and results, not just words.”