Kim Encouraged His Daughter to Major in Social Welfare
Calling It "A Business for Humanity"
Seol Nanyoung, the spouse of People Power Party presidential candidate Kim Moonsoo, appeared on a YouTube channel on the 16th and introduced him as "someone who tries to keep a great distance from money itself."
In an interview video released on 'Goseongguk TV' that day, Seol said, "Kim is very afraid of money. He tries not to get close to it," explaining her remarks. Seol appeared on YouTube to support Kim, who is trailing Lee Jaemyung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, in the polls.
Seol shared, "It's a habit ingrained since childhood, or perhaps a trait of being from a Confucian yangban family, but he always tried to keep himself clean, pure, and dignified, saying, 'Dirty money is not to be touched.'"
She continued, "Even when he wrote a book in the past, he wrote that 'A member of the National Assembly, a politician, is like someone walking along the wall of a prison. If you make a mistake, you end up in prison, and if you make a mistake, you fall.' That is why he kept his distance from money," explaining that this was the reason Kim reported the smallest amount of assets among the presidential candidates, except for one independent.
Kim Moonsoo, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, is taking a commemorative photo with his spouse, Seol Nanyoung, at the People Power Party convention held on the 3rd at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Yonhap News
Seol also shared an anecdote about Kim encouraging their daughter to major in social welfare when she was preparing for college. She said, "Our daughter was interested in English and wanted to choose English as her major, but Kim persuaded her by saying, 'Do you know how noble the field of social welfare is? It is truly a business for humanity.'"
She went on to introduce her son-in-law as a social worker and added, "My daughter and son-in-law prepared to open a day care center. They planned to open it in early April, but due to an unexpected situation in our lives, we decided to postpone it until after the June election."
She also offered a pointed critique of the current labor movement. Seol met Kim in 1978 when she was the union leader at Sejin Electronics and he was the union leader at Hanil Doruko, and they married in 1981. She said, "The labor movement back then was completely different from now. At that time, we demanded only the most basic things," adding, "It was entirely different from today's political struggles."
She continued, "We demanded the guarantee of the three labor rights, menstrual leave, and so on, and as each was achieved, I developed a strong conviction of my own," emphasizing, "I gained the conviction that 'I shouldn't get married and should dedicate my whole life to this work.'"
She also shared a story about receiving approval for their marriage from both families. Seol said, "I'm from Suncheon, Jeollanam-do, and my husband is from Gyeongsang-do. My in-laws were very opposed to me," adding, "Kim has no regional bias. He settled the matter by saying, 'If you love someone, that's all that matters. Is the region really an issue?' in one word."
She continued, "At that time, we were both unemployed. My father asked, 'How are you going to support Nanyoung?' and Kim replied, 'I'm someone who wants to live for all people. Do you think I can't provide for one woman?' So my father had nothing more to say."
She said, "Even at our wedding, I wore a dress, not a wedding gown. We walked in holding hands," adding, "We wanted to show that if you have the right heart, you can get married comfortably without formalities. It also symbolizes the democratization of the family and gender equality."
Regarding her first impression of Kim, she said, "Although he may have seemed rustic, he was very smart and fresh," adding, "The way he spoke and acted was dignified and slow. But I think he was fast when he was on the run during the labor movement," she joked.
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