The Kim Moon-soo candidacy took centre stage on Thursday as tensions deepened within South Korea’s conservative People Power Party. Kim, speaking in Yeouido, rejected growing pressure to unify with Han Duck-soo, who recently declared his own presidential run. Although Han has not joined the official primary, the party leadership appeared to support him behind the scenes. Therefore, Kim accused the leadership of bypassing party rules and undermining democratic procedures. As a result, these claims intensified the already heated debate over the Kim Moon-soo candidacy.
Subsequently, Kim announced that he would boycott a televised debate arranged for Thursday afternoon, calling it an unfair setup. According to Kim, the event was organised without consent and favoured Han, who never formally entered the party primary. Furthermore, he questioned whether Han knowingly benefited from internal efforts to sideline him. Moreover, he criticised the leadership for forming an election committee around a non-primary candidate. Thus, the Kim Moon-soo candidacy, he said, was being deliberately weakened from within.
Instead of withdrawing, Kim proposed a new timeline to resolve the leadership crisis. Specifically, he suggested holding a televised debate next Wednesday, followed by public opinion polls on Thursday and Friday. In his view, this process would provide transparency and restore fairness to the race. Additionally, Kim warned that forced unification efforts could spark legal disputes and fracture the party. Yet he remained confident that the Kim Moon-soo candidacy had popular legitimacy and electoral strength.
Throughout the press conference, Kim presented himself as a fighter determined to challenge political interference. He described the current actions of the leadership as undemocratic and harmful to public trust in the party. Moreover, he warned that ignoring the official primary process could backfire in the general election. Likewise, his supporters echoed this concern, saying the Kim Moon-soo candidacy deserved equal treatment and full backing. With each statement, Kim reinforced his refusal to surrender under pressure.
As the party struggles to resolve the internal split, the Kim Moon-soo candidacy continues to dominate political headlines. His defiance has drawn attention to growing discontent within conservative ranks. Consequently, many voters now await the outcome of the next proposed debate and polls. Meanwhile, the leadership remains silent on whether it will accept Kim’s suggested plan. For now, the Kim Moon-soo candidacy stands as a flashpoint in South Korea’s political arena.
