The presidential election race has officially begun. The People Power Party and the Democratic Party of Korea are accepting candidate registrations until today. The People Power Party will announce the candidates advancing to the first preliminary round after document screening on the 16th. The Democratic Party will begin regional primaries starting with the Chungcheong region on the 16th. As the major party candidates are being finalized, we are launching a series of reports related to the presidential hopefuls. The first topic is 'Presidential Candidates and Their Religions.'

An analysis of the candidates' religions shows that among the eight People Power Party presidential hopefuls, half are Protestant and half are Catholic. Kim Moonsoo, former Minister of Employment and Labor; Yang Hyangja, former lawmaker; Lee Cheolwoo, Governor of North Gyeongsang Province; and Hong Joonpyo, former Mayor of Daegu, are Protestant. Lawmakers Na Kyungwon and Ahn Cheolsoo, Yoo Jeongbok, Mayor of Incheon, and Han Donghoon, former party leader, are Catholic. Among the three Democratic Party candidates, Kim Dongyeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, and Lee Jaemyung, former party leader, are Protestant, while Kim Kyungsoo, former Governor of South Gyeongsang Province, is Catholic. Lee Junseok of the Reform Party and Kwon Youngguk, leader of the Justice Party, are also Catholic.

Former Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moonsoo, who declared his candidacy for the 21st presidential election, is seen meeting reporters as he heads to his vehicle after a service at Yangjae Onnuri Church in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 13th. Photo by Yonhap News

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Former Minister Kim was originally non-religious, then became Catholic, and later converted to Protestantism. While evading arrest during labor and student movements in the 1980s, he found refuge in a Catholic facility, which led him to receive baptism and become a Catholic. However, he converted to Protestantism in 2018. In a February 2020 interview with the JoongAng Ilbo, he explained his reasons for converting: "Although it is only a part, sometimes when listening to Catholic sermons, I sensed a leftist perspective. In some cases, it felt less like a religion and more like a pro-Moon Jaein, pro-North Korea group. When I was Governor of Gyeonggi Province, the Catholic Church held daily Masses for 970 days to protest the Four Major Rivers Project. I didn't want to go."

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Lawmaker Ahn Cheolsoo became a Catholic on October 11, 2017. He received the sacrament of baptism at the National Assembly chapel (a church without a resident priest), officiated by Father Baek Chungyeol, the priest in charge of the National Assembly for the Seoul Archdiocese. Ahn was active in the Catholic student association while attending Seoul National University Medical School. He met his wife, Professor Kim Mikyung of Seoul National University, through volunteer work in a Catholic organization. Although he completed catechism classes at Hyehwa-dong Catholic Church in Jongno-gu at the time, he had not received baptism. His baptismal name is 'Hasang Paul,' after Saint Jeong Hasang Paul. His godfather was Oh Yoobang, a former three-term lawmaker and lawyer.

Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae Myung attended the Christmas service held at Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul on December 25 last year. Photo by Yonhap News

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Former party leader Lee Jaemyung is Protestant. He has stated that both his mother and his wife, Kim Hye-kyung, are Protestant, and that "thanks to my wife, I met the Lord belatedly in 2005." On March 4, 2022, in a CBS Radio speech, he said, "The place where God led me to politics, the place where I first decided to enter politics, was the church," and added, "I will always revere and repent before God and serve the people with humility."

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Although he used to attend Bundang Woori Church, he was removed from the church registry in 2021 after not attending for over ten years. This led to the perception that he is a 'Canaan Christian' (a nominal Christian with weak faith). When this became an issue, he attended services at Yangnim Church in Gwangju during a campaign in Honam on November 28, 2021, and at Seonggwang Church in Jeongeup on December 5.

Former Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moonsoo, who declared his presidential candidacy, and Lee Joonseok, a preliminary presidential candidate of the Reform New Party, are attending the funeral mass of Bishop Rene Dupont (French name Rene Dupont) held on the 14th at Moksungdong Cathedral in Andong, Gyeongbuk. Photo by Yonhap News

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On January 9, 2025, lawmaker Lee Junseok attended the National Assembly New Year Mass and said, "As a politician, I hope that 2025 will be more stable, peaceful, and filled with love for everyone than 2024." On January 22, 2016, he revealed on his social media account that he is Catholic, sharing a childhood photo. "If I transfer my church membership, should I go to Nowon Catholic Church based on my current address, or should I return to Sanggye-dong Catholic Church, where I attended regularly as a child? I remember getting caught and scolded by the assistant priest for playing in the confessional at Sanggye-dong Church," he wrote. Lee was baptized at Sanggye-dong Catholic Church. During the last general election, Lee's mother said she had a hard time when her son was pushed out as party leader and that she discussed her difficulties with a priest.

Former People Power Party leader Han Donghoon is taking a commemorative photo with Senior Pastor Lee Younghoon after finishing a service at Yoido Full Gospel Church in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul on the 16th of last month. Photo by Yonhap News

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Han Donghoon, who moved to Mochung-dong in Cheongju at age four, shared his experiences attending church due to his parents' influence during a courtesy visit to Archbishop Chung Soon-taek, head of the Seoul Archdiocese, on January 30 last year. "I have many ties to Catholicism. My baptismal name was Thomas Aquinas," he said. "When I lived in Cheongju, I served as an altar boy for Father Gerard Hammond (Korean name Ham Jedo) at Sudong Catholic Church. I was also baptized. My parents were very insistent," he recalled. Han graduated from St. Anna Kindergarten, affiliated with Sudong Catholic Church in Cheongju, attended Unho Elementary School in Cheongju, and transferred to a school in Seoul in the fourth grade.

When Hong Joonpyo was a National Assembly member representing Dongdaemun-gu, he and his wife, Lee Soonsam, were appointed as deacons at Jeonnong Methodist Church and attended for over ten years. After moving his political base to Gyeongnam and Daegu, he reportedly did not maintain an active religious life. In a March 2017 interview with Buddhist Newspaper, Hong said that although he is Protestant, he has deep ties to Buddhism due to his devout Buddhist mother.