With the unification of Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party presidential candidate, and Han Duck-soo, the independent preliminary candidate, sluggish, the party leadership reiterated on the 11th that the registration deadline before the election is the critical line.

Han's camp has made it clear that they will not register him as the official candidate if unification does not occur by the 11th.

People Power Party's emergency response committee chair Kwon Young-se holds a press conference at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the afternoon of Nov. 8, explaining that unification must be achieved by the candidate registration deadline of Nov. 11. /Courtesy of News1

Kwon Young-se, chair of the People Power Party's emergency countermeasure committee, held a press briefing at 2 p.m. on the 8th, stating, 'The unification after registration that candidate Kim is claiming, that is, unification after the 12th, can only happen if Han Duck-soo declares he will not register if unification does not occur by the 11th.'

Earlier that morning, candidate Kim held an emergency press conference and remarked on unification with Han, saying, 'For a week, each candidate will campaigned, and then we should have a televised debate next Wednesday (the 14th), followed by opinion polls on Thursday (the 15th) and Friday (the 16th) to unify.'

Chair Kwon stated, '(If unification occurs after candidate registration) it wouldn't be a big problem if it is with candidate Kim Moon-soo, but if it is with an independent candidate, the People Power Party's number 2 will not exist in this presidential election,' adding, 'Our party will conduct the election without a presidential candidate.'

He added, 'After candidate registration, campaigning for other candidates will be completely banned or significantly restricted, which poses a risk of violating the Public Election Act.'

He also explained, 'If we become an independent candidate, we won't be able to spend campaign expenses, and even if we do, we won't be able to get reimbursed.'

◇ The golden time for unification '7 days' has already passed

Within the People Power Party leadership, the first meeting of the two candidates on the 7th was viewed as the deadline for unification. There is much practical preparation to be done, such as ordering campaign materials for candidate registration and signing contracts for more than 200 campaign vehicles with candidate numbers and photos.

After candidate registration on the 11th, the official campaign will immediately begin for 22 days starting on the 12th.

Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, and Han Duck-soo, an independent presidential candidate, discuss at a meeting for candidate unification held at a restaurant in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of Nov. 7. /Courtesy of News1

In response, the People Power Party plans to push through public opinion polls on the 8th and 9th to support candidate registration for number 2, regardless of Kim's camp's objections. They also announced plans to convene a national committee and a party convention to designate the final presidential candidate. Party officials explained that this is to prepare for any unification of the two candidates at any time.

Shin Dong-uk, the senior spokesperson, said in a call with ChosunBiz, 'It is uncertain whether the convention will actually take place, but we are just making preparations for now,' adding, 'By the 8th at the latest, there needs to be some progress in the unification between the two candidates to facilitate practical preparations.' Kweon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, urged the two candidates before their second negotiation meeting, 'Please stay up all night to reach an agreement.'

◇ Election expenses in the range of tens to hundreds of billions, independent candidates bear the burden

If unification is not achieved by the 11th, the independent candidate Han will face a significant burden from election expenses. It seems Han is aware of this, as he has declared he will not register as the official candidate if he is independent.

It is reported that to complete official candidate registration and conduct a proper campaign, a minimum of tens of billions of won and a maximum of hundreds of billions of won is required. Candidates affiliated with a party have their campaign expenses covered by their party, but independent candidates must bear all expenses themselves.

During the 20th presidential election in 2022, the Democratic Party of Korea spent 48.753 billion won, while the People Power Party spent 42.467 billion won. The People’s Party (about 7.085 billion won), the Justice Party (about 3.236 billion won), and the Progressive Party (about 1.34 billion won) also spent more than 1 billion won.

If a candidate receives more than 10% of the votes in the presidential election, they can be reimbursed for half of the election expenses; if they receive more than 15%, they can be reimbursed in full. However, if they do not meet these thresholds, they will not get a single won back, which can also be a burden.

Chair Kwon remarked, '(Independent candidates) will have difficulty doing more than just greeting people at subway stations due to financial constraints,' adding, 'Candidate Kim has run several times and is not oblivious to these facts. Despite having enough time for unification, questions arise as to why the party is rushing.'