Court also rejects Kim’s injunction to legally secure PPP presidential slot
A Seoul court on Friday dismissed injunctions filed by People Power Party presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo earlier this week to legally affirm his candidacy and to block the ruling party from convening a national convention to name its final nominee for the presidential election.
Kim had sought court injunctions to block party efforts to replace or merge his candidacy with another contender, arguing that he was the rightful nominee after winning the PPP primary. However, the court dismissed the request, effectively allowing the party to continue exploring alternatives, such as a merger with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.
The court's move came amid a growing rift within the conservative bloc, with Kim refusing to yield to the People Power Party leadership's push for a “forced candidacy merger” with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.
“The forced candidacy merger (pushed by the party leadership) is nothing more than an attempt to drag me down and make an independent candidate the party’s official presidential nominee,” Kim said during a general meeting of People Power Party lawmakers in the morning. “I cannot accept this,” he added.
Kim’s remarks were made in the presence of the conservative party’s leadership, including interim leader Kwon Young-se and floor leader Kweon Seong-dong. The duo has called for a “swift” candidacy merger between Kim and Han -- currently an independent candidate -- before Sunday’s deadline for official candidate registration for the June 3 presidential election.
Kim called for the People Power Party leadership to “immediately stop engaging in illegal and unfair acts” to make Han the party’s presidential candidate.
Following Kim’s speech, interim leader Kwon expressed his disappointment, saying that a “true leader must be willing to sacrifice his personal interests -- this is extremely disappointing.”
Kim left the general meeting held at the National Assembly immediately after Kwon finished his speech. Some People Power Party lawmakers either attempted to physically block him from leaving or shouted “stop him,” but Kim left the premises in a hurry.
Kim’s remarks came hours before the People Power Party was set to announce the results of its survey of party members and the public regarding who is best suited to be the party’s candidate. The poll results would be weighted 50 percent from party member votes and 50 percent from a survey of the general public.
Meanwhile, Lee Jung-hyun, a spokesperson for Han’s campaign, told reporters around noon that if the People Power Party “decides to choose Han as its candidate after the survey results come out in Han’s favor,” then they plan to heed the party’s decision.
Kim and Han have held two rounds of talks so far in a bid to narrow their differences on unifying their candidacies, but without success.
In the afternoon, Kim asked ex-Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, who recently announced his retirement from politics, to head the People Power Party's election management committee. Hong, however, refused Kim's offer and said in a statement that he has "already announced that he will not get involved in the upcoming presidential election." Hong is set to depart on a planned trip to the US on Saturday, he added.
A political commentator forecast that it is unlikely that Kim and Han will agree to unify their campaigns and that the tension will remain unresolved for now as they pursue their own differing interests in the upcoming election.
“While the presidential election is on both their minds, it’s also about the scenarios that might unfold after the election if they both fail to be elected president -- that's what’s at the core of the current rift,” Park Sang-byeong, a political commentator and professor at Inha University, told The Korea Herald via phone.
“Kim is apparently seeking to be elected the People Power Party leader following the presidential election and stepping down as a presidential candidate will not help him achieve that goal,” he explained.
“Meanwhile, for Han, he has pledged to the people to achieve constitutional reform, and for him to continue his political career, it’s crucial for him to carry out that pledge as president.”
mkjung@heraldcorp.com
