Seoul: Negotiations over merging the presidential candidacies of Kim Moon-soo from the People Power Party (PPP) and former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo fell apart on Friday, exacerbating internal rifts within the conservative bloc just weeks ahead of the June 3 election.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the breakdown occurred after a Seoul court dismissed Kim's petition against the party leadership's initiative to merge his campaign with Han's. PPP lawmakers also decided to grant full authority to the party leadership to potentially reselect its presidential candidate.
Earlier in the day, tensions flared between Kim and the PPP's interim leadership over the proposed merger of his campaign with Han, who is currently running as an independent candidate. "The forced merger pushed by the party leadership is nothing more than an attempt to remove me and make an independent candidate the party's presidential nominee," Kim stated during a meeting with PPP lawmakers. "I cannot accept this."
This meeting marked Kim's first attendance since securing the party's nomination earlier in the month. In response to Kim's comments, PPP interim leader Kwon Young-se expressed his disappointment, stating that "a true leader, especially one aspiring to become a great leader, must be willing to sacrifice his personal interests."