"Have to Try and Regret Too"... Kim Young-rok, Jeonnam Governor, Hints at Presidential Run with 'Honam Candidate Theory'

As the Constitutional Court's impeachment trial against President Yoon Suk-yeol intensifies, raising the possibility of an early presidential election, Kim Young-rok, governor of Jeonnam who is promoting the 'Honam candidate theory,' has officially declared his candidacy. On the 3rd, when asked about running for president at the National Assembly, Governor Kim said, "I have basically made up my mind. Now it's a matter of when to make a move," adding, "Even if I regret it after trying, I must do it; I should not regret not trying."

Kim Young-rok, Jeonnam reporter. Hyunmin Kim, reporter kimhyun81@

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Governor Kim expressed his views on the 'Honam candidate theory' and constitutional amendment. He said, "It is not desirable for political forces to continue with a stagnant political system excluding Honam. We need to move toward a political system that can accommodate various opinions, but because we have been polarized, problems have accumulated and worsened," adding, "The 1987 constitutional system now needs to be renewed to recreate the nation. To recreate the nation, politics must undergo a major reform."

Regarding Lee Jae-myung, the opposition's presidential candidate and leader of the Democratic Party, he said, "If we engage in healthy policy competition, it will overall expand the Democratic Party's share," emphasizing, "We must fully support the Democratic Party candidate who wins the primary."

Speaker of the National Assembly Woo Won-sik (right) is taking a commemorative photo after receiving a proposal letter for the establishment of a National Medical University in Jeollanam-do from Kim Young-rok, Governor of Jeollanam-do, who visited the National Assembly on the 3rd. Photo by Yonhap News

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On the same day, Governor Kim met with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, Democratic Party Supreme Council member Jeon Hyun-hee, Policy Committee Chair Jin Sung-jun, Health and Welfare Committee Chair Park Joo-min, and lawmakers Kim Moon-soo and Seo Mi-hwa to propose the establishment of a national medical school in Jeonnam and the enactment of four renewable energy laws. He handed Speaker Woo a 'Proposal for the Establishment of a National Medical School in Jeollanam-do' and requested support to allocate 200 additional medical school seats separately during the 2026 academic year discussions between the government and the medical community.

He also proposed the enactment of four renewable energy laws, including the Special Act on Offshore Wind Power, the Special Act on Agricultural Solar Power, the Special Act on National Power Grid, and the Special Act on Distributed Energy Activation, as well as the establishment of the Honam Regional Aviation Office to innovate the safety system and efficiently manage aviation in the southwestern region, including air traffic control and maintenance.

Born in Wando, Jeonnam, Governor Kim served as the deputy governor of Jeonnam Province, then as a member of the 18th and 19th National Assembly, and served as Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries during the Moon Jae-in administration. In the 2022 local elections, he was the only Democratic Party-affiliated metropolitan government head to successfully secure re-election.

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