"Cherry Blossoms Blooming on Old Trees and Halmi Flowers... Opposition's Harsh Evaluation of Kim Moon-soo's Injury"

"Support Spectrum Is Too Narrow,
Cannot Become Final Candidate"

The opposition evaluated Kim Moon-soo, Minister of Employment and Labor, who has emerged as the frontrunner among conservative presidential candidates, saying he "will not last long."

Kim Moon-soo, Minister of Employment and Labor. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 27th, Kim Yong-nam, special advisor of the Reform New Party, said on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "Since Kim Moon-soo finished his term as Governor of Gyeonggi Province in 2014, he has continuously failed politically," mentioning his defeat in the general election and the 2018 Seoul mayoral election loss. He added, "After repeatedly attending rallies opposing the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye alongside Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon, he was appointed chairman of the Economic, Social and Labor Council under this government, then immediately became Minister of Employment and Labor. Like a withered tree blooming, he is now leading the conservative presidential candidates," pointing out, "This is the result of supporters of the Yoon Seok-youl and Kim Gun-hee couple shifting their support to Kim Moon-soo."

Seo Yong-joo, director of the Maek Political and Social Research Institute and former full-time deputy spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea, described it as "cherry blossoms blooming on a withered tree," saying, "Like cherry blossoms, it will bloom briefly and then fall." Seo said, "The group actively participating in the polls is the Taegeukgi Unit led by Jeon Kwang-hoon," and added, "Politics ultimately returns to normal, so a healthy conservative candidate (who cannot gain support from moderate voters) like Minister Kim cannot become the final candidate."

Park Won-seok, former Justice Party lawmaker, stated, "The moment the impeachment is upheld and an early presidential election becomes a reality, it becomes very clear that Minister Kim's spectrum cannot win," and pointed out, "Cherry blossoms may look beautiful, but there are many other flowers that bloom quickly and fade, such as halmikkot (Anemone) and hobakkkot (pumpkin flower)."

Kim Geun-sik, head of the People Power Party's Songpa-byeong district committee, also said, "I believe our party's (People Power Party) wrong messaging contributed to Minister Kim emerging as number one. I agree that Kim's approval ratings will not last long," and predicted, "Once the impeachment verdict is finalized, the president faces criminal trials, and the appeal trial results for Lee Jae-myung come out in early March, the smoke surrounding the hardline supporters on both sides will clear, and the bubble around candidate Kim Moon-soo will burst." He added that the People Power Party will also change in a moderate and rational direction, so Kim's approval ratings will decline.

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