Seoul: People Power Party (PPP) presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo proposed a meeting with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Thursday, as the conservative party grapples with the challenge of fielding a unified candidacy for the June 3 election.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the proposal for the meeting came a day after Kim and Han failed to reach an agreement on whether to join forces against Democratic Party (DP) candidate Lee Jae-myung. This comes at a time when Kim and the party's leadership are at odds over unifying candidacies. Despite the planned meeting, neither Kim nor Han has shown signs of compromise, with the meeting set for 4:30 p.m. at the National Assembly.
Earlier in the day, Kim demanded that the PPP's leadership cease pressuring him to unify candidacies with Han, asserting his position as the party's "legitimate" nominee. Meanwhile, Han urged Kim to "keep his promise" regarding the unification of conservative candidates. Han's camp expressed their willingness to meet Kim "anywhere anytime" but noted that Kim's camp announced the meeting proposal without prior coordination.
An official from Han's camp confirmed Han's attendance at the meeting despite the unilateral announcement. Kim, who served as a labor minister, was nominated by the PPP as its presidential candidate last week. Han has also declared his presidential bid but stated he will not register for the race unless an agreement is reached with the PPP on unifying candidacies. The deadline for candidate registration with the National Election Commission is May 11.