Kim tae-ho can be said to be a very striking one among the new generation of political leaders in South Korea. Since 1998 was elected as a Taoist MP in Juchang County, Gyeongsangnam-do, his birthplace, he has been brave enough to challenge. In 2004, he was elected as the governor of Gyeongsangnam-do by-election, thus becoming the youngest governor (then 42 years old). During his tenure as governor, Dao actively promoted the "South Coast Project" and developed it into a national project.

New thinking, honesty, youth, tenacious driving force and leadership, according to these reputations, he was regarded by the ruling party as a "hidden dragon" who could challenge the next presidential election and easily won the re-election of the local government in 2008. At the beginning of this year, after Kim Tae-ho unexpectedly announced that he would not seek re-election in Gyeongsangnam-do, public opinion in South China generally believed that he would hold an important position in Lee Myung-bak's government.