The moment catapulted the labour activist-turned-lawmaker to fame that he now hopes to harness to become South Korea’s next president.
“He’s essentially a presidential candidate that social media gave birth to,” Jeongmin Kim, executive director at the Korea Risk Group, told AFP.
Internet users dubbed him “stubborn Moon-soo” in approval of the move, which helped drive a small uptick in his beleaguered party’s approval ratings.
Yet the People Power Party (PPP) — Yoon’s former party — wasn’t always so keen on Kim Moon-soo’s candidacy.
The PPP selected, unselected, and then selected him again as its nominee in a high-profile bout of infighting.
It was symbolic of the turbulence that has rocked the party since Yoon’s botched bid to suspend civilian rule in December.
On the campaign trail, Kim, 73, has sought to distance himself from the ousted president, who became the second conservative leader to be stripped of office, after Park Geun-hye in 2017.
Kim offered his first apology “to the people suffering from the consequences of martial law” last month.
“Martial law has not only made the economy and domestic politics difficult but has also caused significant challenges in exports and diplomatic relations,” he told South Korean media.
Korea Risk Group’s Jeongmin Kim called the PPP’s candidate a “chameleon-like politician capable of political survival”.
Shift to the right
Born into a large family in North Gyeongsang province, about 300 kilometres (185 miles) from Seoul, Kim grew up in poverty after his father’s co-signing of a loan plunged them into debt.
Kim was politically active by his final year of high school, when he was suspended for protesting against military leader President Park Chung-hee.
He attended South Korea’s most prestigious university but started working in factories while studying for his degree and organising labour unions.