South Korean presidential candidate accuses party of pushing him out

SEOUL – South Korean right-wing presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo accused his party on May 8 of trying to force him out and threatened to take legal action, just weeks ahead of a snap election slated for June 3.

Mr Kim told a press conference he believed the party leadership was trying to “bring him down” in favour of another candidate, former prime minister Han Duck-soo, even though Mr Kim had been chosen as the party’s “legitimate” nominee.

The People Power Party (PPP) selected Mr Kim as its candidate on May 3 through primaries, but is now urging Mr Kim and Mr Han to negotiate on who should represent the party in the election.

Mr Han, who resigned as acting leader last week to run in the polls, does not belong to the PPP, but was prime minister under ousted president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was from the party.

Unifying the conservative candidates is seen as one of the few options in order to stand a chance against Democratic Party front runner Lee Jae-myung in the election.

In a two-way race, Lee has 44 per cent support against Mr Han with 34 per cent, while Mr Lee leads 43 per cent against Mr Kim’s 29 per cent, according to a National Barometer Survey released on May 8.

Mr Han was the preferred candidate among 53 per cent of PPP supporters versus 32 per cent who backed Mr Kim.

Conservative leader Yoon was removed from office in April over his shock martial law order, prompting the snap election.

But efforts to form a unity ticket among conservatives have proved difficult.

“The forced unification process that’s under way now is a forceful candidate replacement and an attempt to bring me down... so it could lead to legal disputes. Stop it immediately,” Mr Kim said of the party leadership.

Mr Kim’s supporters filed an injunction to stop the party from holding a convention this weekend to officially pick either Mr Kim or Mr Han as a candidate, Yonhap News Agency reported on May 7.

The feud has overshadowed the conservative party’s already uphill battle to retain the presidency and policy debate has taken a back seat, while Mr Lee met business leaders to discuss job creation and deregulation and urged North Korea to stop military provocation and come to dialogue.

Senior PPP leaders and Mr Han’s campaign are pressuring Mr Kim to come to an agreement before May 11 when the official registration for presidential candidates closes.

Mr Kim has rejected the calls and proposed a one-week campaign for each candidate and a public survey afterwards to pick a unified candidate.

In response, Mr Kweon Seong-dong, floor leader of the PPP, said that Mr Kim was trying to keep his candidacy in a “pathetic” way.

Mr Kweon began a hunger strike on the night of May 7 along with other senior party leaders, increasing pressure on Mr Kim to quickly unify his candidacy with Mr Han. REUTERS