SEOUL, May 10 (AJP) - In a press conference held at 9:50 a.m. on Saturday, Kim Moon-soo condemned the People Power Party’s (PPP) early-morning decision to strip him of his presidential candidacy and replace him with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. Calling the move a “political coup,” Kim declared his intent to pursue legal and political action against party leaders and urged the public to stand with him in what he described as a fight to defend South Korea’s democracy.
“Democracy within our party died last night,” Kim said, standing before reporters just hours after the PPP formally canceled his nomination and registered Han as its new candidate under Article 74-2 of the party’s constitution.
The party leadership opened a one-hour candidate registration window between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. following the breakdown of unification talks between Kim and Han. The PPP has argued that its decision was backed by overwhelming party sentiment and justified under internal rules allowing candidate replacement in exceptional circumstances. The move is set to be finalized through a party-wide vote on May 10 and ratified by the national committee on May 11.
However, Kim refused to accept the result. “What happened last night is not just an internal issue—this is unprecedented in our constitutional history,” he said. He accused party leaders of plotting his removal even before he was nominated, alleging that Han had been their pre-selected candidate all along.
Kim also criticized the registration process itself, which he said involved submitting over 30 documents with virtually no notice. “They pushed it through at 3 a.m., in just one hour. That alone shows how illegitimate this process was,” he said.
He vowed to take immediate legal steps to challenge the decision and warned of consequences for those responsible. “I will continue to fight to protect the Republic of Korea’s liberal democracy,” Kim declared. “We must defend the values we’ve upheld through blood and sacrifice.”
Despite the party’s withdrawal of support, Kim has maintained that he remains the legitimate PPP candidate and said he will attempt to register independently with the National Election Commission.
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The following is the full transcript of Kim’s statement, as delivered at the press conference:
“Dear citizens and fellow members of the People Power Party, I am Kim Moon-soo, your presidential candidate. I hope you were well through the night.
Last night, the emergency leadership committee of the People Power Party unlawfully stripped me of my candidacy—a position I was rightfully elected to by the people and our party members.
Democracy within our party died last night. I sincerely apologize to the members and citizens who supported me despite my shortcomings.
A political coup unfolded in the dead of night. What took place is unprecedented not only in Korean constitutional history but in global democratic history.
Our party, which should have been standing up against the political monster Lee Jae-myung, turned into a monster itself.
According to our party constitution, the presidential candidate must be elected at a party convention or by its delegate body, the National Committee. But before any such committee even convened, the emergency leadership, which had no such authority, pushed through a candidate replacement.
This is a blatant violation of the party’s rules. The leadership had decided on Han Duck-soo as the candidate long before I was selected and made repeated efforts to push me out.
Around 1 a.m. today, they ultimately revoked my nomination. Then at 3 a.m., they rushed through a one-hour registration process requiring 32 documents, effectively forcing a new candidacy in the dark.
I will immediately take legal and political action against this illegal and unjust attempt to replace the party’s rightful candidate.
I will hold those responsible for this crisis accountable, both legally and politically.
I will continue to fight to protect the Republic of Korea’s liberal democracy. We must defend the values that we’ve upheld through blood and sacrifice.
To the citizens of this country. I ask you to stand with me, Kim Moon-soo. Thank you.”
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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