Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
No meaningful progress made on unifying candidacies between PPP's Kim and Ex-PM Han
People Power Party presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo, left, and former Prime Minister and independent candidate Han Duck-soo shakes hands before holding a one-on-one meeting to discuss unifying their candidacies at a restaurant in central Seoul, Wednesday. Joint Press Corps
By Anna J. Park
Former PM says he won’t run without single-candidate deal with PPP
A meeting between Kim Moon-soo, the presidential candidate of the conservative People Power Party (PPP), and former acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, now running as an independent, ended without any meaningful progress toward unifying their presidential bids, Wednesday.
The one-on-one meeting, which began at 6 p.m. at a restaurant in central Seoul, lasted about 75 minutes. The two discussed the possibility of consolidating their candidacies ahead of the June 3 election, amid growing internal strife and concerns within the party about the candidacy merger.
Following the meeting, Han's spokesperson confirmed that no agreement had been reached, quoting the ex-prime minister saying that "nothing has been agreed upon."
Kim also stated that he had proposed ideas for unifying their campaigns but acknowledged that no significant progress had been made.
“I shared my own ideas on how to unify our candidacies ... but Han repeatedly and firmly said that he would leave everything [about when and how to unify the candidacies] to the PPP and follow whatever the party decides,” Kim told reporters after the meeting. “There was no meaningful progress. I find that regrettable.”
Kim's aides claimed, even before the two sides met, that the PPP leadership had moved unilaterally to prepare a process for merging the candidacies, such as holding a debate session between the two on Thursday and conducting a public opinion poll to select the final contender on Friday and Saturday — a claim the PPP leadership called a "misunderstanding."
Independent presidential candidate Han Duck-soo speaks about his view on reaching a deal with the conservative People Power Party to field a single contender for the June 3 snap election, during a press conference at his campaign office in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
Earlier in the day, Han said that he will not register as an official candidate unless he reaches a deal with Kim to field a single contender before Sunday’s registration deadline.
"If the candidacy unification is not achieved (with Kim), I will not register as an official presidential candidate," Han said during a press conference held earlier in the day at his campaign office in Yeouido, Seoul.
He emphasized his willingness to fully accept any outcome resulting from a fair and legitimate consolidation process.
"I have already entrusted all decisions regarding the method of unification to the PPP. They just need to decide and act immediately. Any method of unification is fine with me, whether it be public opinion polls, TV debates or anything," he said.
He added that he has no objection to any methods or conditions put forward.
"I have no interest in the specific methods or conditions of the candidacy unification process. I’m willing to proceed without setting any terms — that is my principle," he said.
He further noted that he has "no intention of troubling the public up to the last moment before the ballots are printed," adding "a political tug-of-war only excites those involved, while it causes suffering for the public. That is not the right way. I will not engage in such behavior."