President Lee Jae-myung appointed former Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyeong-soo as the chairperson of the Presidential Committee on the Era of Local Autonomy on the 29th.
Chairperson Kim is known as a key figure in the pro-Roh Moo-hyun and pro-Moon Jae-in factions. He served as an administrative officer in the National Security Council during the participatory government and later held positions as the planning speech secretary and press secretary at the Blue House.
After the resignation of former President Roh Moo-hyun, he went down to Bongha Village in Gimhae, Gyeongnam, to assist Roh and was referred to as 'Roh Moo-hyun's last secretary.'
He ran for the Gyeongnam governor position in the 2014 local elections as a member of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy but lost to Hong Joon-pyo, the then Saenuri Party candidate.
In the 20th general election of 2016, he was elected to the National Assembly from Gimhae-eul, Gyeongnam. In the 2017 presidential election, he served as the spokesperson for the publicity team of then-candidate Moon Jae-in.
Chairperson Kim was elected as the governor of Gyeongnam in 2018, but he lost his governorship and served prison time after being convicted of manipulating public opinion through the so-called 'Druking' affair. He was released under a special pardon in December 2022 and restored to his rights through a special pardon on Liberation Day, August 15, 2023.
In the 21st presidential election, he entered the Democratic Party's presidential primary and competed against President Lee Jae-myung. The results placed him third, behind President Lee and Kim Dong-yeon, the Gyeonggi Province governor.
At that time, Chairperson Kim announced his candidacy for the presidency by pledging to fully transfer the presidential office and administrative capital to Sejong City, inheriting former President Roh's will for decentralization and regional balanced development. He finished third in the primary behind President Lee Jae-myung and Governor Kim Dong-yeon.
After President Lee Jae-myung was confirmed as the presidential candidate, he led the campaign as the overall campaign chairperson in the Democratic Party.
Kang Hoon, the chief of staff to the president, noted during a briefing that 'Chairperson Kim is a person with experience in national administration and an understanding of local administration' and assessed that he is 'the right person to lead the era of local autonomy in the Lee Jae-myung government, which prioritizes balanced development and local autonomy as key national tasks.'
Chairperson Kim revealed through his social media (SNS) that he is determined to succeed in President Lee Jae-myung's pledges of '5 Extremes and 3 Specials Development Strategy' and 'the transfer of the administrative capital to Sejong.'
'5 Extremes and 3 Specials' refers to a strategy that involves establishing special local governments in five regions: the metropolitan area, southeastern region, Daegu and Gyeongbuk region, central region, and Honam region, while enhancing the autonomy and competitiveness of the three special self-governing provinces: Jeju, Gangwon, and North Jeolla.
▲ 1967 Gyeongnam Goseong ▲ Jinju Dongmyeong High School ▲ Seoul National University, Department of Anthropology ▲ Administrative Officer at the Presidential National Security Council and First Secretarial Office ▲ Planning Speech Secretary at the Blue House ▲ Public Affairs Secretary for former President Roh Moo-hyun ▲ Member of the 20th National Assembly ▲ Spokesperson for the Central Election Countermeasures Committee for the Democratic Party of Korea's 19th presidential candidate Moon Jae-in ▲ Gyeongnam Governor ▲ Candidate in the Democratic Party of Korea’s 21st presidential primaries ▲ Overall campaign chairperson for the Democratic Party of Korea's 21st presidential election Central Election Countermeasures Committee.