Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo urged People Power Party presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo on Thursday to "keep his promise" to unify their candidacies ahead of the June 3 presidential election.
Han, who is running as an independent in the race, spoke to reporters shortly after Kim held a press conference to denounce the PPP leadership for its pressure to merge campaigns.
"Someone who does not keep his promise to unify is showing a big discourtesy and disrespect to the people who are concerned about the nation and the Republic of Korea's future, economy and people's livelihoods," he said during a campaign stop at former President Park Chung-hee's birthplace in Gumi, 200 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
"If he has any consideration for the nation and the people, I would tell candidate Kim Moon-soo to keep his promise to immediately begin merger discussions (with me) if he becomes the candidate of the PPP," he added.
Han and Kim held a private meeting Wednesday evening to discuss merging their campaigns but came away with no agreement.
Han said he plans to meet Kim again at 4 p.m. Thursday as requested by Kim after cutting short his trip to the southeastern region.
The former prime minister also took a swipe at Kim for suggesting he had no intention of formally registering as a presidential candidate by the May 11 deadline.
"Saying he has no idea why Han Duck-soo stepped forward as a presidential candidate really shows a lack of basic manners," Han said. (Yonhap)
