South Korea’s Kim Moon-soo retains presidential bid, Han Duck-soo withdraws

Han Duck-soo said he 'humbly accepts everything' and expressed hope that Kim would succeed in the election, which follows the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk Yeol.

South Korea's People Power Party's presidential election candidate Kim Moon Soo, left, submits documents to register as a candidate to run in the June 3 presidential election, at the National Election Commission. (Photo: Yonhap via AP)

South Korea’s conservative opposition has reinstated Kim Moon-soo as its presidential candidate after the withdrawal of rival Han Duck-soo, just weeks before the country’s June 3 snap election. The People Power Party (PPP) had earlier attempted to replace Kim, a staunch conservative and former labor minister, with Han, a former prime minister and acting president.

The attempt to replace Kim was amid growing concern over internal divisions and low poll numbers against liberal frontrunner Lee Jae-myung. According to The Associated Press, the party’s emergency committee on Saturday nullified Kim’s nomination — which he had secured with 56.3% of the vote in a primary — and registered Han as its new candidate. But the last-minute change required ratification via an automated all-party vote.

Party spokesperson Shin Dong-wook later confirmed that the vote narrowly rejected the switch. “While we cannot disclose the figures, the vote on switching the candidate was rejected by a narrow margin,” Shin said.

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Kim called the attempt to oust him an “overnight political coup” and was immediately reinstated after the vote. “Now everything will return to its rightful place,” he said in a statement.

The road ahead

Kim Moon Soo, right, and Han Duck-soo pose for a photo during a meeting in Seoul, May 8th. (Photo: Yonhap via AP))

Han, whose late entry into the race had deepened factional rifts within the PPP, formally ended his bid on Sunday. As reported by Reuters, Han said he “humbly accepts” everything and expressed hope that Kim would succeed in the election, which follows the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk Yeol.

Kim Moon-soo, 73, is now officially registered as the PPP’s candidate and will face off against Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, who has consistently led in public opinion polls.

Kim, once a prominent labor activist, shifted to conservative politics in the 1990s and has since served three terms in the National Assembly and eight years as governor of Gyeonggi province.

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The PPP’s internal strife has cast doubts over its electoral prospects, but with the candidacy issue resolved, the party now attempts to rally behind Kim in a high-stakes contest.

(With inputs from Reuters, AP)

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