Kim Dong-yeon Extending His Hiatus: "Refining and Refining My Vision"

Slow Progress Since Candidacy Declaration, Approval Rating in 0% Range
Ahn Cheol-soo and Kim Jong-in Have Not Met... Possibility of Rebound

[Photo by Kim Dong-yeon, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, Facebook]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Kim Dong-yeon, considered a "third zone" presidential candidate, has been in hiding for over a week since declaring his candidacy for the presidential election. Accordingly, his approval ratings remain below 1% in various polls. As public interest waned, he posted on Facebook on the 2nd, announcing that he is "preparing for the candidacy declaration ceremony next week." He explained the reason for his hiatus as adhering to the principle of "not making a fuss and not causing inconvenience."

On the morning of the same day, Kim shared a photo of his visit to the National Seoul Memorial Cemetery the previous day, stating, "Although I already revealed my decision to run in my hometown, I am refining and refining my vision to deliver a deep resonance to the hearts of the people."

After declaring his candidacy on the 20th of last month, he emphasized the keyword "quiet revolution" and expressed his intention to minimize external activities. Kim said, "I will compete solely with a vision and content that prepare for the future. I will try to do things differently from the existing political methods."

However, there are skeptical views regarding his recent actions. Political commentator Lee Jong-hoon evaluated, "If you want to do something in the middle ground, you need to have power equivalent to the past 'Ahn Cheol-soo syndrome,' but it seems to have failed in the early stages."

In political circles, there is speculation about the possibility of uniting with third-zone figures such as Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, or Kim Jong-in, former emergency committee chairman, but Kim’s camp still maintains distance. A representative from Kim’s side said, "We have no political contact whatsoever with Leader Ahn or former Emergency Committee Chairman Kim," adding, "We try to avoid showing meetings with politicians or emphasizing forces like the existing political circles."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.