Kim Moon-soo, a candidate who advanced to the final of the People Power Party leadership election, met for lunch with lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo, who was eliminated in the first primary on the weekend of the 23rd at a restaurant in Yeouido.
It is interpreted that Candidate Kim, who is from the anti-impeachment faction (opposed to the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol), is absorbing support from lawmaker Ahn, who is in the pro-impeachment faction ahead of the mobile and ARS voting for party members and public opinion polls on the 24th to the 25th.
After finishing the meeting, Candidate Kim told reporters, "We primarily talked about how we need to come together and find a way to win the local elections next year." He also mentioned that he could accept Ahn's proposal to create a presidential election white paper as a reform plan. However, regarding an official alliance with lawmaker Ahn, he said, "Since Ahn doesn't have a particular organization, we confirmed that cooperation is necessary within the People Power Party to create a good Korea."
He said there are no plans to meet with lawmaker Jo Kyung-tae, who was eliminated in the first primary, but he called him to express appreciation for his efforts, stating, "There are various opinions in our party, so we need to come together to win the local elections next year."
Lawmaker Ahn drew a line against interpreting this meeting as a declaration of support. He emphasized the need to sever ties with former President Yoon.
Lawmaker Ahn told reporters, "This is not a meeting to support another candidate," adding, "I simply wanted to meet to emphasize that our party needs to innovate and that we should sever ties with former President Yoon and the endorsement of martial law." When asked about Candidate Kim's reaction to his severing ties with former President Yoon, he said, "He just listened" and noted, "Rather than trying to create conflict while seeking to embrace forces that support impeachment for the sake of unification, it would be wiser for the anti-impeachment forces to go out and establish a separate party."
Regarding his failure to advance to the final, he stated, "Even though the Constitutional Court unanimously ruled on impeachment, I was a bit shocked that those who do not accept this form the majority." He added, "This is not the path our party should take."
Candidate Kim's meeting that day is interpreted as a strategy to differentiate himself more actively from his rival, Candidate Jang Dong-hyuk.
Candidate Jang, at a press conference after the party convention the previous day, targeted lawmaker Jo, stating, "If someone says that there are factions supporting insurrection in the party and continues to put the party at risk, they cannot be followed after the convention," effectively suggesting that the pro-impeachment faction should either change their position or leave the party.
Candidates Kim and Jang will determine the final winner on the 26th after the runoff vote.