The re-negotiation for the unification of Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party presidential candidate, and Han Duck-soo, an independent preliminary presidential candidate, ended in failure just 20 minutes after it began. The two sides could not find common ground on whether to reflect the polling method for candidate unification, specifically the anti-competitive clause (the party support survey clause).
The two sides agreed to resume negotiations at 10:30 p.m. that night.
During the resumed unification negotiations at 8:30 p.m. that night, Kim Moon-soo's side argued that ▲ the survey should be conducted using the ARS method (with a sample size of over 3,000) but that ▲ there was no need to include questions about party support since it was a contest against an independent candidate.
On the other hand, Han Duck-soo's side acknowledged no disagreement over the 3,000 ARS subjects but opposed including questions about party support. Han Duck-soo's side, which has strong support among the non-partisan and moderate groups, wants to reflect the clause regarding party support.
In other words, while Kim Moon-soo's side suggested conducting a 'general survey' without reflecting the anti-competitive clause, Han Duck-soo's side countered that even a general survey should at least block the potential participation of Democratic Party supporters.
Shin Dong-uk, the People Power Party's chief spokesperson, said right after the collapse of negotiations, "The differences over the anti-competitive clause could not be resolved, so (the negotiations) ended simply."
Kim Moon-soo's side asserts that there is no need to ask about the supporting party since the unification will choose the 'People Power Party candidate'.
Kim Jae-won, the chief of staff, said, "The Han Duck-soo side presented a method that we cannot understand at all," adding, "They suggested constructing a survey that does not ask about party support, which we absolutely cannot agree to."
He continued, "We argued that there is no need to ask about party support in the survey. Why should an independent candidate ask about party support to make a decision?"
When asked, "What conditions did Han Duck-soo's side demand?" he retorted, "Is it normal that the People Power Party presidential candidate decides to unify with an independent candidate by asking about party support?"
Han Duck-soo's side noted that without reflecting the anti-competitive clause, it would be equivalent to Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea selecting the People Power Party candidate, which is why they could not accept Kim Moon-soo's side's proposal.
Han Duck-soo's secretary, Son Young-taek, said, "In other words, they are suggesting a method where Lee Jae-myung could choose our candidate, but how could we accept that method?"
He emphasized, "They keep talking about independent candidates, but it's a unification choosing a People Power Party candidate, not just any independent candidate."