The PPP’s presidential nominee, Kim Moon-soo, had expressed a willingness to team up with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who declared his presidential bid last week. However, Kim now appears to have changed his mind shortly after being chosen as the PPP's candidate through its internal primary process.
In a press conference on Thursday, Kim suggested separate campaigning for a week, followed by a televised debate and opinion polls next week to determine who should be the PPP's final presidential candidate.
He also questioned the "fairness" of the process, pointing out that Han, as an independent candidate, entered the race at the last minute without going through proper procedures.
Kim's proposal came just a day after his talks with Han collapsed, failing to produce any fruitful outcome.
While Kim appeared to be dragging his feet, the PPP's interim leader Kwon Young-se and floor leader Kweon Seong-dong repeatedly urged him to reach a conclusion on fielding a unified candidate through talks with Han.
To pressure Kim, the PPP conducted a poll the previous day among its party members and other voters, which revealed that over 80 percent supported Kim and Han merging to field a unified conservative candidate.
Han has already said he would not register his candidacy if he fails to reach an agreement with Kim on a unified conservative candidate by Sunday.
The two are in talks once again later in the day, but a breakthrough still looks elusive.
reporter
Im Yoon-seo
lyseo0330@ajupress.com
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