Party-wide Poll from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Pressuring Kim Moonsoo for "Unification" Through Party Sentiment
Requesting Kim Moonsoo's Attendance at the General Assembly by Visiting His Campaign
On May 7, the People Power Party (PPP) held its third consecutive general assembly of lawmakers and launched a party-wide opinion poll regarding the unification of presidential candidates Kim Moonsoo and former Prime Minister Han Ducksoo. This move is interpreted as a strategy to apply comprehensive pressure on candidate Kim, who has shown a lukewarm attitude toward unification with former Prime Minister Han after being nominated as the presidential candidate under the combined banner of Kimducksoo (Kim Moonsoo + Han Ducksoo) during the primary.
Starting at 9 a.m. on this day, the PPP began an opinion poll among all party members regarding support or opposition to the unification of presidential candidates for the 21st presidential election. The survey items include the necessity of unification (necessary, not necessary) and the timing of unification (before or after candidate registration). The poll is being conducted via an automated response system (ARS) and will run until 9 p.m. today. For party members who do not answer the initial call, one additional call will be made. The results are expected to be announced after 9 p.m. today or early in the morning of May 8.
This strategy aims to pressure candidate Kim, who has refused to negotiate unification with former Prime Minister Han by emphasizing his status as a candidate chosen by both the public and party members, through the will of the party. When reporters asked Secretary-General Lee Yangsoo on his way to the National Assembly whether the poll results would be released if Kim and Han reached a unification agreement, he replied, "Since unification has not been achieved, we are asking all party members whether it is necessary or not, whether it should be done or not. But if all party members say unification should happen, then it must be done. If the two candidates had already unified, there would be no need for a poll," he countered.
Continuing from May 5 and 6, the PPP is holding another general assembly of lawmakers today to revisit the issue of unification between candidate Kim and former Prime Minister Han. Many party lawmakers are outraged that candidate Kim has not honored his promise of unification made during the primary. On May 6, Representative Park Sooyoung, who served as the head of policy for Kim's primary campaign, shared a message in the PPP lawmakers' group Telegram chat, stating, "Candidate Kim and his close aides and campaign are showing classic signs of a leftist-style organizational takeover." At the May 5 general assembly, he also apologized, saying he did not realize unification would be so difficult.
The party leadership maintains that candidate Kim should attend the general assembly today and participate in the discussion. Floor leader Kwon Seongdong, who visited Kim's house the previous day, told reporters, "I want to hold the general assembly with candidate Kim present, but I have not been able to reach his chief of staff, former lawmaker Kim Jaewon, by phone. I would like to meet him in person, hear his intentions, and schedule the general assembly at his convenience," he requested.
However, it is unlikely that candidate Kim, who is resisting the leadership's pressure for unification, including the party-wide opinion poll, will attend the general assembly. Although the leadership planned to coordinate with Kim to hold the assembly today, his camp did not inform the party of his attendance as of this morning.
Accordingly, the PPP decided to hold the general assembly at 2:30 p.m. today, and Deputy Floor Leader Park Hyungsoo, along with floor spokespersons Park Sumin and Seo Jiyeong, contacted Kim's campaign. However, Deputy Floor Leader Park later told reporters at the National Assembly that he was unable to meet candidate Kim or chief of staff Kim Jaewon in person and explained that he had conveyed the details of the assembly to a member of the campaign staff.
Deputy Floor Leader Park stated, "If candidate Kim says he will come this morning or even now, we will hold the assembly immediately. He is welcome to come at 2:30 p.m. or even later. If he wants to come after a unification meeting with former Prime Minister Han, we will continue to wait on the premises," he said.
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