Kim Moon-soo, the former Minister of Employment and Labor who officially announced his candidacy for the 6·3 presidential election, returned to the National Assembly on the 11th. This visit came just two days after he held a press conference to declare his candidacy on the 9th. He greeted lawmakers and their aides while visiting their offices, which is interpreted as a move to secure 'allies' within the party ahead of the full-fledged presidential race.
The former minister made his appearance in the National Assembly member's office this morning. Returning to the party after five years, he visited the offices with a somewhat awkward expression. Before his candidacy declaration on the 9th, the former minister submitted his application to join the People Power Party and returned to the party after five years. He had left the former People Power Party (then Liberty Korea Party) in 2020 when he founded the Liberty Unification Party. It is reported that his interaction with party-affiliated lawmakers has decreased since then.
The former minister greeted the staff working in the offices while going around and said, 'Thank you for your support,' shaking hands with each of them. Due to a tight schedule, he only visited the offices on the 10th and 9th floors. He visited the offices of lawmakers like Kim Seok-ki, Park Sung-min, Kang Myung-ku, Han Gi-ho, Choo Kyung-ho, Lim Jong-deok, Kim Sung-won, Kim Wi-sang, Kim Jeong-jae, Park Chung-gwon, Kim Seon-kyo, Seo Il-jun, Kim Jong-yang, Lee Yang-soo, Yoon Young-seok, Kim Sang-hoon, and Kim Tae-ho, who are affiliated with the pro-Yoon (Yoon Seok-yeol) faction, as well as the offices of lawmakers categorized as pro-Han, including Jo Kyung-tae, Kim Hyung-dong, Bae Hyun-jin, Park Jeong-hoon, Ko Dong-jin, and Ahn Sang-hoon. He also visited the office of Kim Dae-sik, who is expected to join the presidential campaign of Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo.
The former minister met with lawmakers and requested, 'I apologize for appearing suddenly. Please help me a lot,' and the lawmakers expressed their support for his presidential candidacy.
Choo Kyung-ho, a former floor leader, noted, 'As a person who has lived fiercely and uprightly, I believe he has been involved in many activities as a civic activist and politician and has diverse experiences that make him competitive against any of the other capable candidates in the People Power Party. I send my support.' Lawmaker Han Gi-ho reflected on past connections, stating, 'I know for sure that he has a higher interest in security than anyone else, and his convictions and love for the country are greater than anyone else's, so I respect him.' Lawmaker Kim Jong-yang said, 'I cheer for your victory with applause.'
He discussed opinions on improving the 'conscription' system with a lawmaker who is a 'former military general.' The former minister said, 'The young manpower resources in Korea are rapidly decreasing, so I am thinking a lot about how we can maintain our military strength,' and noted that 'even if conscription is implemented, auxiliary support like administrative work could be handled by military civilians or through private military companies (PMC). However, regarding the 'female conscription system,' he stated that it has 'considerable issues.'
During his visit to Lawmaker Ko Young-jin’s office, he discussed 'AI semiconductors' with him. He also asked Kim Joo-young, the representative of the AI semiconductor startup 'HyperExcel', 'What do you think is the best way for the political world to help?'
After visiting the lawmakers' offices, the former minister said, 'Members of the National Assembly are listening to the local sentiments and are setting up their own master plans to strongly push forward,' and added, 'I feel that I must have an interest and help them.'
However, some staff members at the lawmakers' offices reacted by saying they were 'surprised' at his unexpected visit without prior coordination. Many lawmakers were absent due to regional schedules. A member of the campaign team, 'Victory Camp,' for the former minister explained, 'I came to greet the aides rather than the lawmakers themselves.'