Kim Kyung-soo Enters Third Day of Hunger Strike
Kim Dong-yeon Holds Solo Protest in Gyeonggi Province
Policy Discussions Halted... Also an Issue of Seizing the Agenda
The presidential candidates from the Democratic Party's non-Lee Jae-myung faction, known as the "New Three Kims" (Kim Kyung-soo, Kim Dong-yeon, Kim Boo-kyum), have also launched outdoor protests following President Yoon Seok-yeol's release. This move comes as the Constitutional Court's impeachment ruling date approaches, with the opposition camp emphasizing the need to unite in one voice.
According to political circles on the 11th, former Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo continued his hunger strike for the third day in front of the Palace Museum near Gyeongbokgung Station in Seoul. After President Yoon's release on the 8th, Kim set up a tent in front of the museum on the afternoon of the 9th and began his protest. From the previous day, he moved to a tent protest site set up by the Democratic Party. On the same day, Kim said on the radio, "The situation is serious. I cannot guarantee that (President Yoon) will be impeached," emphasizing, "We must empower the Constitutional Court so that it can accept the impeachment and remove the president."
Another opposition presidential hopeful, Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon, also started a solo protest. On the previous afternoon, he held a placard reading "Immediate dismissal of the traitor" near Suwon Station, the location of the provincial office. From the morning of the day, he continued his protest near Gwanggyo Jungang Station on the Shinbundang Line. He stated, "The cancellation of Yoon Seok-yeol's detention was a procedural defect, but Yoon has enjoyed rights that no one among the 50 million citizens has ever had," and called for the resignation of Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung.
Former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum also began outdoor protests by attending a joint rally of the five opposition parties. The day before, he visited Kim Kyung-soo’s hunger strike site to offer comfort and support. Kim Boo-kyum also asserted, "Even if Yoon Seok-yeol is released, he cannot escape responsibility for the rebellion," urging the Constitutional Court to accept the impeachment.
While the surface reason for the "New Three Kims" launching outdoor protests is the need for the opposition camp to unite amid rapid political changes, there is also an interpretation that this is a competition among opposition presidential candidates to seize the issue. In fact, when Kim Kyung-soo was the first to start a hunger strike immediately after President Yoon’s release, some within the pro-Lee Jae-myung faction criticized that Representative Lee Jae-myung should have initiated the hunger strike first.
Following President Yoon’s release, major election issues such as constitutional amendments and pension reform have been sucked into a black hole, halting policy discussions and pushing these figures outdoors. A political insider analyzed, "As policy discussions became impossible for the non-Lee faction presidential candidates who had raised policy issues, they shifted to outdoor protests as a strategy to increase their 'impeachment contribution'."
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