Labor minister says he hasn't considered presidential run despite rising poll numbers

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Labor minister says he hasn't considered presidential run despite rising poll numbers

Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo, center, walks inside the central government complex in Jongno District in Seoul on Feb. 4. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo, center, walks inside the central government complex in Jongno District in Seoul on Feb. 4. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo said Tuesday that he “has never thought of nor considered” running for president even as he emerges in polls as a conservative contender in a possible early presidential election.
 
After attending a meeting with lawmakers at the National Assembly in western Seoul, Kim said confirming an early presidential election was impossible while President Yoon Suk Yeol was undergoing trials over his declaration of martial law on Dec. 3 of last year.
 
A recent public poll by Hankook Research suggested Kim is a favored presidential candidate of the conservative People Power Party. In the survey, Kim received 14 percent of support from 1,000 eligible voters polled, coming in second behind liberal Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung at 35 percent.
 

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When asked about his intention to run as a presidential candidate if the Constitutional Court approved Yoon’s impeachment, Kim said it was “disrespectful to the president and the people to say such things right now” and that answering such a question went against his conscience.
 
Kim said he "has taken no particular actions or roles" concerning his increasing public support. “What I have said is just common sense,” Kim said. “Other than saying ‘I want the president to be released’ or ‘I hope there would be no impeachment,’ I have said nothing.”
 
The minister said the Constitutional Court should reject the presidential impeachment, claiming Koreans do not wish to see their presidents repeatedly impeached.
 
“The president has lost everything and is now locked in a prison cell because of the martial law, regardless of the validity of the measure,” the minister said.
 
Kim also said he would have opposed martial law if he had attended the Cabinet meeting before it was declared.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]
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