Conservatives split over Yoon potentially clearing key liberal to run

Conservatives are divided over reports President Yoon Suk Yeol may fully restore the political rights of once-prominent liberal politician Kim Kyung-soo, allowing him to run for public office.

Kim, a key ally of former Democratic Party of Korea President Moon Jae-in, was already pardoned last December from serving the remaining five months of his two-year jail term.

In 2021, he was sentenced to two years in jail in the Supreme Court for trying to sway voters online by manipulating comments on news sites. The conviction immediately ousted him from his post as then-governor of South Gyeongsang Province.

The December pardon did not remove his disqualification to run for office for the next five years, however, barring him from entering the National Assembly election or the presidential election slated for 2028 and 2027, respectively.

If Yoon decided to restore Kim’s rights, on the occasion of the Aug. 15 Liberation Day, the ruling People Power Party would be poised to face a powerful rival who -- before his high-profile voter manipulation scandal -- was considered a top Democratic Party presidential contender to run after Moon.

Yoon possibly opening the doors for Kim to return to politics caused a stir among People Power Party big names, including its chair Han Dong-hoon, who reportedly opposed the move.

“Many say they are against his rights being restored because he undermined democracy by trying to cheat the election, and still hasn’t publicly repented since,” five-time ruling party Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun said in a statement Saturday.

“At the end of the day, it is the president who has the authority to grant a pardon or restoration of rights, and his decision has to be respected.”

In all his public appearances since the high-profile allegations first surfaced in 2018, Kim vehemently denied wrongdoing, even as lower courts found him to be guilty.

The ruling party has yet to release its official stance on the prospect of the former Democratic Party lawmaker-turned-governor getting back his rights to run sooner. “As the matter is under review by the administration, the party is carefully considering all sides,” the party said in a message to reporters Friday.

The calculus is more complex for the Democratic Party, which continues to rally around Rep. Lee Jae-myung, its former chair who is on his way to clinching a second term as the top party leader in the upcoming convention.

Lee, who was narrowly defeated by Yoon in the 2022 presidential election, is still regarded as the Democratic Party’s top choice for president.

The return of Kim, a Moon ally, would challenge what so far appears to be Lee’s bid as the sole presidential candidate of the Democratic Party.

Rep. Park Jie-won, who was Moon’s spy chief, spoke out against some within the ruling party opposing Kim being cleared to run again.

In a statement Sunday, the five-time Democratic Party lawmaker said the ruling party chair “has no right to object to” the president granting any pardons.

“After he was made ruling party leader, Han kowtowed to former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, both of whom he helped indict when he was prosecutor,” he said. “Of all 50 million people in this country, Han is least qualified to comment on making peace with political rivals.”