[2] Kim had earlier stood for mayor of Daegu in the 2014 local elections, and received 40 per cent of the vote, a number seen at the time as unusually large in the conservative stronghold.

[11] No candidates were elected, except Park Hyung-oh that contested for Shinan,[12] who immediately joined the Peace Democratic Party (PDP) due to the pre-agreement.

[11] He served as the Deputy Spokesperson of the party, however, was arrested on 18 November after it was revealed that Kim received 5,000,000 won (£3,240) from a North Korean spy named Lee Seon-shil during the 1988 election.

[9][10] According to Park Jie-won, the then Senior Deputy Spokesperson, Kim borrowed the money from Lee through his mother-in-law, but paid it back after the election.

[9][10] Since prime minister Chung Sye-kyun had the intention to run for the 2022 presidential election, he planned to resign at an unknown date.

[16][17] Despite the knowledge that President Moon Jae-in was reported to prefer a female prime minister, Kim was considered one of the potential candidates for the position.

[16][17] On 15 April, Chung officially submitted his resignation to Moon Jae-in,[18] and it was accepted the next day.