Kim Moon-soo, the presidential candidate from the People Power Party, noted on the 6th that "I promised to meet independently with Han Duck-soo, the independent preliminary candidate, at 6 p.m. on the 7th."
On the same night, Kim said in a statement, "This promise was suggested by (Kim Moon-soo) the candidate. There should be no further unnecessary disputes regarding unification."
Kim also said, "I plan to meet separately with all the candidates who participated in the primary to have in-depth discussions on current issues."
Kim stated that he would activate the "party priority rights," saying, "The unnecessary opinion poll scheduled for tomorrow should be stopped immediately as it undermines the unity of the party."
So far, Kim has emphasized several times the fact that the candidate elected has party priority rights.
"Party priority rights" are defined in Article 74 of the party constitution. It states that "the presidential candidate has priority over all powers related to party affairs within the necessary scope to effectively promote election tasks from the day of selection to the presidential election day."
The opinion poll mentioned by Kim refers to the vote on whether or not to unify, which the People Power Party plans to conduct among all party members.
Previously, Kwon Young-se, the chairperson of the People Power Party's Emergency Committee, stated that an opinion poll on unification would be conducted among all party members on the 7th. It is reported that the poll will ask whether they support or oppose unification and whether it should be done before the registration of candidates with the National Election Commission.
Some have forecast that the internal conflicts within the party could escalate further depending on the voting results.
Kim urged the party leadership, stating, "They should no longer intervene in unification and should immediately cease related activities," and added, "From this moment, unification will be entirely led by the presidential candidate."
The party leadership announced plans to convene the national committee on the 8th and 9th and the party convention on the 10th and 11th, to which Kim responded by saying it was "unilateral enforcement excluding the candidate."
Finally, Kim emphasized, "The party must immediately focus on supporting the presidential candidate through the central election committee to do its best for electoral victory."
Initially, the party leadership traveled to Daejeon in the afternoon to meet directly with Kim, who was visiting Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, but they had to turn back as Kim announced, "I will suspend the primary schedule and return to Seoul."
In response, the People Power Party held an emergency general meeting late at night, deciding to request Kim's attendance on the 7th. However, Kweon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, and senior party members Kim Ki-hyun and Park Deok-heum waited late at night in front of Kim's home in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, before withdrawing.
Meanwhile, independent candidate Han Duck-soo stated after Kim issued his statement, "I promised to meet on the 7th," and added, "All matters other than this meeting will be handled between the People Power Party and the presidential candidate from the People Power Party."
He also said, "I am always open to discussions about unification, and I have already stated several times that I have entrusted the methods to the People Power Party."