Seoul: The conservative People Power Party (PPP) has embarked on a groundbreaking process to replace its presidential candidate, following the collapse of merger talks between its standard-bearer Kim Moon-soo and former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the party convened an emergency committee and election management body to address the cancellation of Kim’s candidacy through party primaries, Han’s party membership, and other related issues. This move comes amid concerns that the lack of a unified conservative candidacy could weaken their chances against liberal Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung, who is expanding his lead ahead of the June 3 presidential election.
Rep. Lee Yang-soo, head of the PPP election committee, announced on the party’s website that Han has registered as a party presidential candidate. Han also informed PPP members of his formal party membership.
In a late-night decision, the PPP notified members of its intention to cancel Kim’s candidacy, with candidate registration opened for just one hour at 3 a.m. The party plans to put this decision to a vote on Saturday and finalize its presidential candidate by Sunday, the deadline for state election committee registration.
Kim criticized the PPP’s actions as a “midnight political coup” and an “unprecedented anti-democratic act,” promising to pursue legal and political measures against those responsible. He has filed a court injunction to prevent the party from canceling his candidacy, marking his second legal action since becoming a presidential contender.
Previously, Kim sought a court order to oppose the party leadership’s push for a merger with Han, but the court dismissed the petition on Friday. Despite multiple discussions, Kim and Han failed to reach an agreement during their third consecutive day of talks.
Han issued a public apology for the situation, emphasizing the need for a united front to secure an election victory. The party’s late-night decision has faced backlash from primary candidates and their supporters.
The PPP defended its actions, with emergency committee chief Kwon Young-se stating that Kim had undermined efforts to achieve a single candidacy and betrayed party members’ trust. Kwon apologized to the public for the failure to unify the party and pledged to take responsibility for the outcome.
To cancel Kim’s candidacy, more than half of the party members’ votes are required. Should this threshold not be met, Kim will maintain his candidacy.
The PPP invoked a clause in its key law allowing for the determination of a presidential candidate through an emergency committee decision if there is a “considerable” reason. This move comes as Kim shifted away from supporting a unified candidacy, a position he had advocated during the party’s nomination contest.
Despite pressure from party leadership to merge candidacies before Sunday, Kim insisted on an opinion poll on May 15-16 to decide the unified candidacy. Recent opinion polls have shown Han leading Kim, with the National Barometer Survey indicating Lee Jae-myung at 43 percent support, followed by Han with 23 percent and Kim with 12 percent.
On Friday, a Seoul court dismissed Kim’s legal challenge against the party’s merger push, and PPP lawmakers granted party leadership the authority to potentially reselect its presidential candidate.