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PPP set to conclude opinion polls on favorability of presidential candidate between Kim, Han

Published: 09 May. 2025, 10:45 Updated: 09 May. 2025, 19:27

Kim Moon-soo, presidential candidate of the People Power Party, walks to a restaurant in Seoul on May 7, to discuss with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, an independent preliminary presidential candidate, a possible unification of their candidacies ahead of the June 3 presidential election. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The People Power Party (PPP) was set to wrap up its two-day opinion polls Friday about favorable ratings between its presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo and former Prime Minister and independent presidential contender Han Duck-soo.

The polls came as Kim, former labor minister, has demanded the PPP's leadership stop forcing him to unify his candidacy with Han, an independent preliminary presidential candidate, demonstrating a growing rift within the conservative party with the presidential election just 25 days away.

Kim and Han held their second round of talks Thursday to try to unify their candidacies, but the talks ended without an agreement.

The June 3 presidential election is being held to pick a successor to ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law bid, with the PPP still divided over its stance about Yoon's ouster.

The opinion polls will be based on a combination of 50 percent party member votes and 50 percent public opinion polling.

Amid ongoing tensions, Kim canceled his campaign stops in the southeastern cities of Daegu and Busan, and is likely to focus on response measures to the PPP leadership and Han's push for the merger.

Since being selected as the presidential candidate, Kim has been at odds with the party leadership, which has been pushing him to unify his campaign with Han.

Han has insisted that the merger be finalized by May 11 to ensure that one of them can run as the PPP candidate without dividing the conservative votes to better counter Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung, who is leading opinion polls.

Han said he will not register for the presidential race if there is no agreement with the PPP on unifying candidacies.

Kim, however, proposed that he and Han each campaign for a week, before holding a televised debate and public opinion polls to decide on the candidacy next week.

Yonhap