Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party presidential candidate, warned on the 8th that the party leadership intends to push forward with a unification roadmap with independent candidate Han Duck-soo, citing 'priority in party affairs' as grounds for halting it. The unification roadmap suggests holding a televised debate on the 14th and conducting public opinion polls over two days on the 15th and 16th, leading to evaluations that the request for 'unification before the 11th' from the candidate and the party has effectively been dismissed.
On the same day, Kim held an emergency press conference at the campaign office in Yeouido, Seoul, and presented the unification roadmap. This came after a meeting the previous day between candidates concluded without any results, leading the party leadership to hold a late-night gathering of lawmakers and propose a public opinion poll on the 8th and 9th, along with a YouTube debate scheduled for 6 p.m. that day, which he rejected.
In response, Kim said, "I will not participate in a debate unilaterally decided by the party without the candidate's consent," and urged, "Stop the coercive demands for unification by the party leadership from this point on."
He added, "Such coercive unification lacks any impact or narrative. For synergy and verification, candidates should campaign for a week," proposing a unification candidate selection plan through a televised debate on the 14th and conducting public opinion polls on the 15th and 16th.
However, in response to Kim's proposal, the party leadership stated they would proceed with the scheduled public opinion polls, while Han's side reaffirmed that not unifying was their stance, stating the need for unification before the 11th. Observations suggest that with Kim's unification plan not being accepted, unification has effectively collapsed.
The power struggle surrounding unification negotiations is evolving into a dispute over the interpretation of party rules. Kim's side argues based on Article 74 of the party constitution, which states that the presidential candidate elected at the party convention should lead the unification efforts. Article 74 stipulates that 'the presidential candidate shall have priority over all rights related to party affairs within the necessary scope to efficiently carry out election duties from the day of election until the presidential election day.'
On the other hand, the party leadership invokes the special provisions concerning the selection of presidential candidates in 'Article 74-2 of the party constitution.' It states that 'notwithstanding the regulations for selecting a presidential candidate, if there are substantial reasons, matters concerning the selection of the presidential candidate shall be deliberated by the presidential candidate election management committee and decided by the emergency preparedness committee.' Based on this, the party leadership held consecutive meetings of the election management committee and the emergency preparedness committee the previous night and voted on the 'unification roadmap' draft prepared by the party.
However, Kim's side holds the position that once a presidential candidate is elected, the special provisions regarding the presidential candidate cannot be applied. A spokesperson for Kim's side stated, "Since it is stated 'concerning the selection of the presidential candidate,' it cannot be applied after the selection."
Park Gye-dong, a former lawmaker and the negotiator for Kim's unification talks, also asserted, "The actions of the party leadership severely violate the party constitution. It has reached a level that may be subject to illegal criminal penalties." Party members supporting the People Power Party's Kim Moon-soo filed an injunction to halt the convening of the 6th National Convention, which was announced by the National Committee Chair Lee Heon-seung the previous day.