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What do they stand for? Candidates announce major pledges for June 3 presidential election.

Published: 13 May. 2025, 13:14 Updated: 13 May. 2025, 15:49

From left: Presidential candidates Lee Jae-myung, Kim Moon-soo and Lee Jun-seok on the campaign trail on May 12, the first day of official campaigning for the presidential election [YONHAP]

As Korea’s presidential race officially kicks off, candidates are rolling out campaign pledges aimed at winning over voters in a closely watched election.

While Democratic Party (DP) candidate Lee Jae-myung picked AI as his weapon to forge a stronger Korea, the conservative candidates — Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party (PPP) and Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party — both went straight into economics. Kim Moon-soo focused on growing the middle class and Lee Jun-seok aimed at reforming the current pension system in Korea to ensure a better life for the current young generation.

All three candidates are set to carry out their campaigns on Tuesday, the second day of the official campaign season, in the conservative Gyeongsang region.

Lee Jae-myung will visit Daegu, Pohang and Ulsan. Kim Moon-soo will also start in Daegu, followed by stops in Ulsan and Busan. Lee Jun-seok is also set to visit Daegu.

Lee Jae-myung's AI vision

Lee, the liberal party’s presidential candidate, announced a list of 10 major pledges on Monday under the themes of building a stronger economy and overcoming internal division.

Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung delivers a speech on Eunhengjeongi Street in Daejeon on May 12. [JOONGANG ILBO]

His first priority is to transform Korea into an “economic powerhouse” by fostering the AI industry as a new growth engine.

He pledged to increase the AI-related budget to a level on par with advanced economies and attract 100 trillion won ($70.3 billion) in private investment for new industries through a public fund model.

Lee’s second pledge focuses on defending democracy and overcoming internal conflict.

He proposed strengthening the National Assembly’s authority to lift martial law, introducing confirmation hearings for the heads of the Army, Navy and Air Force, and reinforcing civilian oversight of military intelligence agencies.

Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung delivers a speech at a rally focused on “K-semiconductors” at the Central Fountain Plaza in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, on May 12. [JOONGANG ILBO]

“How to root out internal threats is the most urgent task of this election,” said Kim Sung-hwan, co-head of the DP’s policy committee.

Lee also emphasized judicial and prosecutorial reform. He vowed to fully separate police investigation and prosecutorial indictment functions, and to introduce a system allowing prosecutors who abuse indictment powers to be dismissed without going through impeachment.

Expanding the number of Supreme Court justices also made the list, a move that follows the top court’s recent decision to overturn a lower court ruling that had acquitted Lee of election law violations.

He also pledged to expand the issuance of local currency vouchers — known as “regional gift certificates”— as a means to boost consumer spending and support small businesses.

Lee’s platform includes pushing to amend the Commercial Act so that corporate directors owe a duty of loyalty to shareholders, not just their companies.

He also said he would revise the Labor Standards Act to explicitly ban fixed-sum wage systems and support revisions to the Trade Union Act — often referred to as the “Yellow Envelope Law”— which business groups oppose.

Lee pledged to construct a second presidential office and National Assembly building in Sejong during his term as part of a broader push for balanced regional development.

Constitutional reform, however, was notably absent from the list.

“We plan to announce our position on constitutional reform separately, given its importance,” said Jin Sung-joon, co-head of the party’s policy committee.

Kim Moon-soo eyes 'Greater Korea'

Kim Moon-soo, the PPP’s candidate, unveiled his own 10-point pledge list under the banner “A New, Greater Korea.”

People Power Party presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo appeals for support from citizens during a campaign rally at Seomun Market in Daegu on May 12. [JOONGANG ILBO]

His campaign centers on boosting corporate freedom, strengthening the middle class and supporting young people.

His top pledge is to make Korea a better place to do business and create jobs.

“I will maximize the autonomy and creativity of the private sector and businesses to achieve growth led by freedom,” Kim said. "I will introduce the Basic Act on Freedom-Driven Economic Innovation to eliminate regulations on new technologies and industries."

Kim said he would seek to hold a Korea-U.S. summit immediately upon taking office to negotiate a comprehensive tariff deal, and also promised to revise the 52-hour workweek system.

He added he would cut the maximum rates for corporate and inheritance taxes.

As his second pledge, Kim promised to establish a deputy prime minister for science and promote the commercialization of Korea-developed small modular reactors (SMRs), with the aim of becoming a global leader in AI and energy.

His third pledge includes pension reform with youth participation and reinstating the military service bonus system.

He also proposed expanding the greater Seoul express rail system, GTX, model nationwide by building high-speed train networks across five major metropolitan zones.

People Power Party presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo appeals for support from citizens during a campaign rally at Seomun Market in Daegu on May 12. [NEWS1]

He pledged to introduce inflation-indexed adjustments to income tax deductions and brackets to help the middle class grow their assets. Kim deliberately kept spending-heavy pledges such as local currency voucher programs to a minimum to distinguish himself from Lee Jae-myung.

Kim's youth and family support policies include a “3-3-3 Youth Housing Program” that offers housing subsidies for three years upon marriage, with three more years added for a first child and another three years for a second child — for a total of nine years of support.

He criticized the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s medical school expansion plans and promised to completely reevaluate them, saying he would “rebuild the collapsed medical system within six months.”

Kim also pledged to create a new criminal offense of obstructing justice, abolish lawmakers’ arrest immunity and dispatch audit inspectors from the Board of Audit and Inspection to all ministries and major public institutions.

“These are measures drawn from Kim’s experience as Gyeonggi governor and are intended to prevent another Lee Jae-myung,” an official from his campaign said.

Lee Jun-seok advocates system change

Lee Jun-seok, the Reform Party’s presidential candidate, presented his 10 campaign pledges that fully embodies his academic background in science and engineering.

Reform Party presidential candidate Lee Jun-seok delivers a speech at a campaign kickoff event in Cheonggye Plaza, central Seoul, on May 12, the first day of official campaigning for the presidential election. [YONHAP]

Born in 1985, Lee Jun-seok is the youngest candidate in the race. As such, Lee proposed a generationally fair overhaul of the national pension system by separating the old system from a new one.

He also pledged a “Solid Start Fund,” which would offer individuals aged 19 to 34 fixed-interest loans of up to 50 million won at an annual rate of 1.7 percent with no restrictions on use.

A graduate of Seoul Science High School and Harvard University with a double major in computer science and economics, Lee also proposed a “Science Heroes Honor System.”

He promised to provide outstanding researchers, including Nobel and Fields Medal winners, with up to 5 million won per month and fast-track them through immigration and security checks.

His first pledge focused on weakening presidential authority.

Lee said he would abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and streamline the current 19 ministries into 13.

He proposed a three-deputy prime minister system for national security, strategy and social affairs and said he would abolish the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials. He also vowed to merge the National Human Rights Commission and Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY YOON JI-WON, PARK TAE-IN AND JANG SEO-YUN [[email protected]]