Webzen chief, criminologist picked as opposition candidates
Kim Byung-kwan
By Yi Whan-woo
The main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) picked Kim Byung-kwan, chairman of online game developer Webzen, and famous criminologist Pyo Chang-won as candidates to run in the April 13 general election, Monday.
Kim and Pyo were included among 15 MPK candidates who were given tickets to run in the elections without primaries.
Six of the 15 candidates, including Kim and Pyo, are non-career politicians. The two were recruited by Rep. Moon Jae-in when he was the party chairman.
The party made the decision in a closed-door emergency meeting in the morning, according to spokesman Kim Sung-soo.
The Webzen chairman will compete in the Bundang A district in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, where his company is located.
Kim is viewed as the MPK’s counterbalance to Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, a CEO-turned-politician who recently founded the minor opposition People’s Party
Ahn set up his own party after quitting the MPK predecessor, the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) in December in the wake of an internal power struggle with Moon.
Both Ahn and Kim Byung-kwan share common ground in their public image as self-made IT billionaires.
Ahn built his fortune as the founder of AhnLab, the country’s leading antivirus software developer, before entering politics in 2012.
Raised in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province, Kim Byung-kwan calls himself the “son of a poor farmer.”
In April 2015, the estimated value of Kim Byung-kwan’s tech-heavy KOSDAQ shares was 363.2 billion won ($302.06 million) while Ahn’s KODAD stocks were worth 78.7 billion won.
Pyo, a former criminology professor at the Korean National Police University, will run in the Yongin D district, a newly-created constituency in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. He was born there.
Being critical of the conservative Park Geun-hye administration and ruling Saenuri Party, Pyo was among progressive-minded voters before joining the main opposition in December.
He serves on the party’s emergency committee led by interim-leader Kim Jong-in.
The MPK said the remaining nine of the 15 candidates have been chosen in consideration of their capability as political heavyweights.
They include Kim Boo-kyum, a former three-term lawmaker, and Kim Doo-kwan, a former provincial governor in South Gyeongnam.
Kim Boo-kyum will compete in the Susung-A district in Daegu. Kim Doo-hwan will make his bid for a National Assembly seat in the Gimpo-A constituency, Gyeonggi Province.
Meanwhile, the ruling Saenuri Party also picked nine candidates who will run in the April elections without primaries. They include floor leader Rep. Won Yoo-chul and chief policymaker Rep. Kim Jeong-hoon.