On Saturday, May 3, the ruling party of South Korea, the National Power Party, announced at the party’s general assembly that former Minister of Labor Kim Moon Soo was elected as the candidate for the 21st presidential election of the party with a 56.53% vote.
The South Korean election is set to take place on June 3. At that time, Kim Moon Soo will compete against liberal candidate Lee Jae-myung.
At the age of 73, Kim Moon Soo previously served as the governor of Gyeonggi Province, the most populous province in South Korea, and was elected as a member of the National Assembly three times. He is also a labor activist who led South Korea’s democratization movement in the 1970s and 1980s, joining the conservative party in the 1990s. In July 2024, he was nominated by the then-President of South Korea, Yun Seok-yue, as Minister of Labor.
The June 3 election aims to elect a successor to conservative President Yun Seok-yue. President Yun Seok-yue was impeached on December 3 last year after announcing a brief martial law order.
Kim Moon Soo opposed the impeachment of President Yun Seok-yue by the parliament but stated that he respected the Constitutional Court’s decision to remove President Yun Seok-yue from office in early April.
Following the impeachment of President Yun Seok-yue in South Korea, Kim Moon Soo gained support from the conservative camp. On April 9, he joined the National Power Party and competed with Han Dong-hoon, Ahn Je-seo, Hong Jun-pyo, and others for the party’s nomination.
Former leader of the National Power Party, Han Dong-hoon, was the only competitor to Kim Moon Soo in the party’s internal selection process. He lost to Kim Moon Soo with 43.47% of the vote.
Han Dong-hoon previously served as the first Minister of Justice in the government of President Yun Seok-yue. He teamed up with the liberal opposition party to overturn the martial law order issued by President Yun Seok-yue and supported his impeachment.
Lee Jae-myung is a popular candidate in this election but faces criminal trials involving five charges including corruption.
Recently, the Supreme Court of South Korea ruled to re-examine the charges of violating election laws against Lee Jae-myung. This adds a new variable to Lee Jae-myung’s election journey.