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PPP to remove Kim Moon-soo as presidential candidate, replace him with Han Duck-soo

Published: 10 May. 2025, 01:26 Updated: 10 May. 2025, 14:47

YOON SO-YEON
[email protected]

People Power Party Presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo holds an emergency news conference in Yeouido, western Seoul, on May 10. [YONHAP]

The People Power Party (PPP) will remove its current presidential candidate, Kim Moon-soo, and replace him with former acting President Han Duck-soo.

"We will cancel the election of Kim Moon-soo as our party's presidential candidate," PPP spokesperson Shin Dong-wook told reporters around 1 a.m. on Saturday Morning after Kim and Han failed to agree on who would represent the conservative party in the upcoming June 3 presidential election.

"We will revoke his status as the presidential candidate," Shin said. "If Han hands in his papers to join the party, the emergency party committee will pass it through and begin the process to vote on our new presidential candidate."

The news comes four hours after a closed-door negotiation between Kim and Han began at 8:30 p.m. at the National Assembly building and collapsed in less than 30 minutes after the two sides failed to agree on how to conduct a joint opinion poll.

The PPP plans to register Han as a new party member "within the night" and open the party member vote on the same day, according to Shin.

Kim Moon-soo hinted at countermeasures.

"The presidential candidate for the PPP is Kim Moon-soo, and we will begin the registration process [at the National Election Commission] tomorrow," said Kim Jae-won, chief of staff for Kim’s campaign.

The PPP's efforts to remove Kim Moon-soo as the candidate, Kim said, "are illegal, and we therefore do not care."

BY YOON SO-YEON [[email protected]]