Former South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo’s potential return to politics is sending ripples through the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) as factional tensions rise, according to political observers, Monday.
Kim, a close ally of former President Moon Jae-in, is set to be among the beneficiaries of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s special pardons to be granted this week on the occasion of National Liberation Day on Aug. 15.
Kim, a former DPK lawmaker who aided Moon during his 2012 and 2017 presidential campaigns, was sentenced to two years in jail by the Supreme Court in 2021 for illegally 홀짝게임 manipulating public opinion in favor of Moon. The then-governor of South Gyeongsang Province was removed from his post immediately after the conviction.
Kim was pardoned in late 2022 while serving a two-year prison term for conspiring with a political blogger named Kim Dong-won, better known by his internet alias Druking, to post and increase “likes” of online comments using automated software to Moon’s advantage in the months leading up to his presidential victory in May 2017.
But since a pardon doesn’t generally result in automatic reinstatement, Kim was banned from running for public office until December 2027. If his rights are fully restored as part of a pardon this week, however, Kim will be able to flex his political muscles and run in the 2027 presidential election.