Kim Moo-sung prepares for presidential election

Supporters of former Saenuri Party chairman Kim Moo-sung (photo) are going to establish a research group called "Future Innovation Forum." Kim will join the group as an associate member. As UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon implied an intention to run for the next presidential election and so did Yoo Seung-min as an independent candidate with the slogan "Labor Revolution," the public attention is drawn to Kim's next moves.

The chairmanship of the Future Innovation Forum went to Rep. Kim Hak-yong, former chief secretary of Kim Moo-sung. The chief researcher position is taken by Rep. Kim Jong-suk, whom Kim Moo-sung recruited as the director of Saenuri Party's Yeouido Research Center. Major members are Rep. Kang Suk-ho, Gwon Sung-dong, Kim Sung-tae, and Park Sung-jung, who are pro-Kim Moo-sung, as well as Rep. Joo Ho-young and Ahn Sang-soo.

The forum will focus on the following agenda: a solution to the low birthrate and aging population, economic growth for sustainable development, peaceful reunification in the Korean Peninsula. The scale of the objectives left some to speculate if the forum is de facto a research camp for Kim's presidential campaign preparation.

"We did not talk with Kim Moo-sung in advance. The forum is designed to focus on tackling Korea's national issues in better ways," Rep. Kim Hak-yong told the Dong-A Ilbo on Wednesday.

However, Kim Moo-sung, who has not been active recently, seemed back in action, having dinner on Tuesday with Rep. Lee Jong-gu, Park In-suk, Jeong Yang-suk, and Kim Sung-tae, who are not members of the Pro-Park Geun-hye faction. Reportedly, Kim Hak-yong planned the dinner and invited Kim Moo-sung. According to one of the people at the table, the former Saenuri chairman remarked at the dinner, "I never talked to President Park alone as Saenuri chairman. I did not get along with her." They talked about Lee Han-gu, who was the former director of nomination management committee and with whom Kim Moo-sung had conflicts during the nomination process, as well as Rep. Yoo Seung-min's speech at Sungkyunkwan University.

송찬욱 기자song@donga.com