PPP's Kim Moon-soo registers presidential candidacy with election watchdog
People Power Party presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo enters the party headquarters in Seoul, May 11. Joint Press Corps
The People Power Party's presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo registered his candidacy with the election watchdog Sunday, pledging to win the presidency and make Korea a "great country."
"This upcoming presidential election is important as it will choose a president who must overcome the crisis Korea is facing and who can make efforts to achieve the people's happiness," Kim told reporters after registering with the National Election Commission in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul.
"I will be elected without fail and will make every possible effort to make Korea a great country," he said.
On Saturday, the People Power Party's (PPP) all-member meeting voted down a motion led by the party's leadership to replace him with former Prime Minister Han Duck-woo as the party's presidential candidate, ending a weeklong internal dispute between him and the leadership.
Kim, a former labor minister, had secured the party's nomination through the primaries but had since come under intense pressure from the party leadership to merge campaigns with Han, who had polled better in hypothetical matchups with front-runner Lee Jae-myung of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea.
Kim welcomed the party's decision in his favor, describing it as "highly unusual" and "a surprising miracle," and thanked party members for "upholding democracy."
In the run-up to the June 3 presidential election, he said he will focus on pitching a "big tent" to expand the coalition not only within the party but also outside it, pledging to achieve national unity and listen to people's voices.
After registering his candidacy, Kim met with Han at the PPP's headquarters in western Seoul and pledged to work together to win the presidency.
They embraced at the start of their first meeting since Kim's candidacy was reinstated through the vote of all general party members, and Han offered his congratulations to Kim.
"In order to win the election, we should unite around Kim," the former PM said, adding that he will do whatever he can to help him.
During the meeting, Kim asked Han to be an election committee chair for his campaign during the meeting, to which Han replied that he must first discuss practical issues to determine what is appropriate.