A one-on-one dinner meeting between People Power Party presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo and former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Wednesday wrapped up without an agreement on a potential candidacy unification.
Following a 75-minute closed-door meeting that kicked-off at 6 p.m. at a restaurant in Seoul, Lee Jung-hyun, spokesperson for Han’s campaign, told reporters that “no agreement has been reached.”
Kim echoed Lee and express regret, telling reporters, “There were no meaningful talks or progress related to candidacy unification.”
Though there were no talks of a follow-up meeting during the dinner, according to Lee, Kim proposed a second round of talks to be held Thursday, in a statement released nearly two hours after Wednesday's meeting ended.
Wednesday’s tete-a-tete came amid a growing rift within the conservative bloc between supporters of the ex-prime minister, who stepped down last week to declare his candidacy, and those in favor of former Labor Minister Kim, who only days ago emerged through a multilevel primary to claim the conservative party’s nomination as its candidate for the presidential election, now just 27 days away.
Until he stepped down from his position on May 1, Han was also serving as acting president following the impeachment and ultimate removal of Yoon Suk Yeol. In South Korea's system, the prime minister is appointed by the president, but is not officially a member of any party while serving in this role.
The party leadership, including Floor Leader Kweon Seong-dong and interim chief Kwon Young-se, in recent days had pushed Kim to merge with Han quickly, preferably before May 11, which is the deadline for candidate registration with the National Election Commission.
Although the party has refrained from saying which of the two would step down in the event of a merger, recent polls indicate that Han is more likely to be the unified conservative candidate, with the ex-prime minister’s popularity slightly higher than that of Kim.
Earlier in the afternoon, Han said in a press briefing that he will not officially register as a candidate for the June 3 presidential election without a candidacy merger with the ruling People Power Party's candidate.
“I will not officially register as a presidential candidate if the candidacy unification (with the People Power Party) does not materialize,” Han said in a surprise press briefing held at his campaign headquarters in western Seoul in the afternoon.
Kim, meanwhile, suspended all activities as the People Power Party’s presidential candidate Tuesday afternoon, pinning blame on the party leadership for its “unilateral” decisions regarding the candidacy merger issue.
Han stressed that he welcomes “any forms of candidacy unification” and that he is open to surveys and televised debates, as long as the process is "fair.” He added that he will heed “decisions of the People Power Party” regarding the merger without conditions.
People Power Party Floor Leader Kweon and several party elders launched a hunger strike on Wednesday evening to urge Kim "to keep his promise of candidacy unification" with Han.
The People Power Party is conducting a survey involving party members, as of press time, on whether they agree or disagree to a candidacy unification between Han and Kim. The results were expected to be announced after 9 p.m. Wednesday, according to party officials.
mkjung@heraldcorp.com
