The main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea’s former leader Moon Jae-in is set to launch an economic think tank in a bid to win support from center-right swing voters in the run-up to the 2017 presidential election.

Moon is seeking to break away from his image as an idealistic progressive icon to gain an upper hand on economic policy, traditionally seen as a strong suit for the conservatives.

He plans to begin by leading the foundation of a private think tank, which is expected to later become an election campaign strategy team.

The think tank, tentatively titled “People’s Growth,” will hold a pre-foundation symposium at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul on Thursday, according to Minjoo Party Rep. Kim Kyoung-soo, a close aide to Moon. The official launch of the organization is scheduled to take place as early as this month.

“People’s Growth consists of voluntary participants, most of them experts in political and economic fields who agree with Moon’s vision,” Kim said Wednesday.

“Our initial goal is to develop the think tank into a valid alternative policy group by the end of the year, increasing the advisers’ pool from the current 500 to some 1,000.”

The core concept of the incoming think tank is a strong focus on down-to-earth economic issues and engagement with the centrist-conservative section of the public, according to Kim.

In his keynote speech for Thursday’s symposium, Moon is expected to provide a renewed strategy as a presidential hopeful, underlining his economic growth plans.

Cho Yoon-je, a professor at Sogang University and economic adviser to former President Roh Moo-hyun, is to be the think tank’s director, while former Deputy Prime Minister Han Wan-sang will serve as senior adviser. The listed professors are to be assigned to one of the seven sectors -- foreign and security policy, economy, information technology, industry, labor, welfare and regional autonomy.

“In this era of low growth, it is no longer significant to distinguish between conservative and progressive, or growth and distribution,” said Kim Hyun-chul, professor at Seoul National University’s graduate school of international studies.

“I agreed with Moon in that a new policy frame was needed to promote growth and distribution simultaneously.”

Professor Kim, who has for long kept a distance from the progressive political camp, is to make a presentation during the symposium on how South Korea should gear up for a growth-driven economic initiative.

The term “People’s Growth,” he added, was an attempt to break free from the conventional prejudice that growth is a conservative agenda and distribution a progressive one.

The economy-driven centrist agenda may, however, evoke unease among progressive supporters, some admitted.

“We are aware that some of the progressive supporters may feel uncomfortable with the name (of the think tank) or the slogan it carries,” said Cho Dae-yeop, director of Korea University’s graduate school of labor studies and vice director of the think tank.

“But people need to understand that our definition of growth is not just an increase in the nation’s economic indexes or the growth of companies, but the kind that actually helps people earn money and improve their livelihoods.”

Criticism of the incumbent Park Geun-hye administration’s “unsuccessful” economic policies also pushed a number of scholars to join in Moon’s initiative, he added.

By launching “People’s Growth,” Moon is to become the first among top-ranking presidential potentials to affirm his bid in next year’s race.

His aggressive turn is seen as reflecting the lesson he learned from the 2012 presidential election, in which he lost to conservative rival Park -- a result which many attributed to Moon’s limited political pool and neglect of economic issues.

The opposition politician is also facing a potential challenge from United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is expected to enter domestic politics once he steps down from his current post at the end of the year.

According to a survey conducted by local pollster Realmeter on 2,525 voters nationwide in the last week of September, Ban outran Moon in approval ratings outside the margin of error. The UN official received 26.8 percent of respondents’ support, while Moon stood at 18.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the Minjoo Party also launched a set of policy task forces to address progressive issues such as welfare, in a move to rally progressive voters and to back Moon‘s moves. In the last presidential election, the opposition camp lost momentum in the welfare sector as the ruling conservative Saenuri Party had fielded the slogan of “economic democratization,” in an appealing gesture toward the political center.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)