'Man of Common People,' Former Party Chairman To Make Presidential Bid

Selling himself as a candidate with broad appeal, Kim Joong-kwon, the former chairman of the ruling Millennium Democratic Party, announced that he will run for the ruling party's presidential nomination.

"I am a son of the Gyeongsang provinces that the people of the Jeolla provinces support, the only reformist recognized by the conservatives and a common person who understands the sorrow of the lower-income classes," Mr. Kim said during a gathering of 20,000 supporters at a Daegu gymnasium. Mr. Kim currently serves as a party adviser and heads its district chapter in Bonghwa-Uljin in North Gyeongsang province.

Several members of the ruling party have made their presidential known, but Mr. Kim is the first to formally announce that he will run for the nomination.

"I will walk the way of moderation to mediate differences brought on by class, region and between conservatives and reformists," Mr. Kim said.

The native of Uljin, North Gyeongsang province, implored the voters of Daegu and North Gyeongsang province to rally behind the ruling party, which has a weak power base in the Gyeongsang provinces.

"It is time for the people of Daegu and North Gyeongsang province, who have risen to the challenge whenever the country was mired in a crisis, to lead in national integration," Mr. Kim said. "I will repay your support by winning the presidential election."

Rival Millennium Democrats are now expected to announce their plans as well. Representative Hahn Hwa-kap is reportedly mulling officially throwing his hat in the ring at a rally Tuesday at the Olympic Fencing Stadium in Jamsil, Seoul. Another strong candidate, Rhee In-je, has nothing planned as of yet. He postponed what was billed as a special speaking session on Nov. 27 saying, "The nomination race could heat up prematurely."

by Kim Jung-ha