Seoul: The conservative People Power Party (PPP) has embarked on an unprecedented journey to replace its presidential candidate, following a breakdown in talks to merge the candidacies of its current standard-bearer, Kim Moon-soo, and former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the party swiftly convened an emergency committee and election management body to initiate decisions regarding the cancellation of Kim’s candidacy, Han’s membership, and other associated issues. This move arises from concerns that a failure to unify Kim and Han’s candidacies could weaken the conservative camp’s chances against Lee Jae-myung, the liberal Democratic Party candidate, who is gaining momentum ahead of the June 3 presidential election.

The PPP plans to have party members vote on the decisions once finalized and intends to announce its final candidate at a national committee meeting scheduled for Sunday. This deadline coincides with the requirement for registering a party candidate with the state election committee.

The party invoked a crucial clause allowing the determination of a presidential candidate through an emergency committee decision due to “considerable” reasons. This marks a significant shift as Kim Moon-soo, initially supportive of a unified candidacy, altered his stance after being named the official candidate last Saturday. Despite pressure from the party leadership to merge candidacies before Sunday, Kim proposed seeking unity through an opinion poll on May 15-16.

Recent opinion polls, including the National Barometer Survey, have shown Han leading Kim, with Lee Jae-myung in the forefront. On Friday, a Seoul court dismissed Kim’s legal challenge against the party’s push for campaign merger, while PPP lawmakers have granted the leadership full authority to potentially reselect the presidential candidate.