Seoul: The People Power Party (PPP) presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo announced on Tuesday that he would temporarily suspend his election campaign. He attributed this decision to what he described as a lack of support from the party amid ongoing discussions regarding the unification of the conservative candidacy with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim's statement came shortly after Kwon Young-se, the PPP's interim leader, emphasized the need for Kim to honor his commitment to pursue a unified candidacy with Han, who is running independently. Kim, during his visit to Gyeongju, expressed his unwavering intention to unify the candidacy, pointing out the party's reluctance to support its own presidential candidate.
Kim criticized the party's leadership for what he perceived as an attempt to replace him with Han by convening both the national committee and a party convention. He questioned the rationale behind this move, especially after he had been nominated during a party convention to run in the upcoming election to replace the ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol.
In response to the current situation, Kim announced his decision to suspend his campaign schedule and return to Seoul to address the issues. He also revealed plans to meet with Han privately on Wednesday evening in hopes of resolving disputes over the candidacy unification.
Furthermore, Kim called on the party to cancel its plan to conduct a survey among members regarding support for a potential merger with Han, warning that such actions could harm party unity. He asserted that the presidential candidate should lead the unification process and expressed his intention to engage in discussions with his former rivals from the PPP primaries.