Formation of Campaign Committee on First Day of Official Election Period
Delays in Preparing Campaign Banners and Vehicles
Election Campaign Preparations Set Back by Candidate Replacement Turmoil
Kim Moonsoo, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, who entered the race late due to internal primary conflicts and discord over candidate unification, faced difficulties with preparations from the very first day of the official campaign. The selection of the election campaign committee members was rushed, resulting in Kim attending his first official event without wearing the designated campaign uniform.
According to political sources on May 13, Kim announced the lineup for his campaign committee on May 12, the day the official campaign period began. Representative Kim Yongtae, the youngest-ever emergency committee chair born in the 1990s, was appointed as co-head of the campaign committee. On the working level, party members were included in the committee regardless of their stance on the candidate replacement controversy. Compared to Lee Jaemyung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, who had already formed his campaign committee with figures from even the conservative camp by April 30, Kim's preparations were nearly two weeks behind.
It is known that Representative Yoon Jaeok of the People Power Party, who was appointed as the chief of the campaign headquarters, led the formation of the working-level team over the weekend. Since Kim only regained his official candidacy status just before midnight on May 10, the campaign committee appointments were also made in haste. A party official stated, "Roles were assigned with reference to the previous campaign committee structure and current party positions before the launch of the Yoon Sukyeol administration."
The campaign slogan, "A New Republic of Korea, Fair and Square Kim Moonsoo," was also finalized on May 12. It reflects Kim's pledge to overcome social conflict and injustice and to open a new era for the country, as well as his emphasis on the principle of "Integrity leads to eternal life, corruption leads to instant death." This, too, was about a month later than Lee Jaemyung, who decided on his main and brand campaign slogans, "The Real Republic of Korea Starts Now" and "Now Is Lee Jaemyung," respectively, on April 12.
The production of banners and campaign vehicle wraps reflecting the slogan was also delayed. Notably, during his first campaign event at Garak Market in Songpa-gu, Seoul, Kim wore a plain red jumper without the party name, candidate number, or his name, clearly revealing the delayed preparations. It was only upon arriving at the central campaign committee appointment ceremony at 10 a.m. that he changed into the baseball uniform-style campaign attire.
In local areas, individual campaign activities were conducted without banners or sashes. Photos released by party lawmakers from local campaign sites showed them wearing clothes displaying only the party symbol and name, or plain red outfits without the candidate's name. In some regions, it was reported that campaign vehicles bearing Kim's photo and name had not yet arrived. A staff member from a Busan lawmaker's office said, "We were told that the campaign vehicle would be ready today or tomorrow."
The delay in practical campaign preparations was due to time lost amid the aftermath of the candidate replacement issue. Although the People Power Party confirmed Kim as its presidential candidate at the party convention on May 3, the internal strife over replacing the candidate caused preparations to be delayed by about a week. On this day, Shin Dongwook, spokesperson for the campaign committee, stated, "We expect the campaign vehicles to be ready today," and added, "Preparations for the campaign are almost complete."
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