Kim Moonsoo Makes Two-Day Yeongnam Visit, Focuses on Calming Conservative Sentiment

Announcement of Alley Economy and Small Business Owner Pledges

Kim Moonsoo, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, will continue his two-day campaign in the Yeongnam region, following his schedule in Daegu on the 12th with visits to Daegu, Ulsan, and Busan on the 13th. This is seen as an effort to soothe the increasingly tense conservative sentiment in Yeongnam, which has been affected by events ranging from the 12·3 Martial Law Incident to the controversy over the unification of presidential candidates.

On this day, Kim will pay respects at the National Shinam Memorial Park in Daegu, hold a campaign launch ceremony for the Daegu-Gyeongbuk election committee at the Daegu city branch of the People Power Party, and then move to Ulsan to visit a local outlet and market. He will then continue his schedule at the Busan International Finance Center (BIFC) and the Busan city branch of the People Power Party, before meeting merchants at Jagalchi Market.

Yonhap News

The People Power Party and candidate Kim believe that the upcoming presidential election must be a two-way race against Lee Jaemyung, the Democratic Party candidate, for them to have a chance of winning. However, they are concerned that the strong momentum of Lee Junseok, the Reform New Party candidate, could split centrist and some conservative votes.

Kim’s repeated visits to markets in the Yeongnam region are aimed at emphasizing his image as a “market, livelihood, and economy president.” On this day, the People Power Party announced a pledge to revive local businesses by expanding the income tax deduction rate for credit card use at traditional markets from the current 40% to 50%.

To help small business owners and the self-employed cope with economic crises, the party also pledged to establish a specialized bank for small businesses and create a presidential committee dedicated to supporting small business owners and the self-employed. Additionally, they announced a plan to provide a “burden relief credit” of up to 500,000 won to help reduce business costs such as utility bills, insurance premiums, and electricity charges.

Meanwhile, due to the disruption caused by the controversy over the unification of presidential candidates, Kim started his campaign later than others and faced difficulties preparing for the election from the very first official campaign day. It was only on the 12th, the start of the official campaign period, that Kim announced the lineup of his election campaign committee and finalized his campaign slogan.

The production of banners reflecting the campaign slogan and the wrapping of campaign vehicles were also delayed one after another. Notably, at his first event at Garak Market, Kim appeared wearing a red jumper with no party name, candidate number, or his name displayed.

Shin Dongwook, spokesperson for the People Power Party’s central election campaign headquarters, said, “We expect the campaign vehicles to be ready by today,” and added, “Preparations for on-site campaigning are almost complete.”