Amid escalating internal strife within the People Power Party over the unification of presidential candidates, the conflict between candidate Kim Moon-soo and the party has been starkly revealed even in court.
On the 10th at 5 p.m., the Seoul Southern District Court's Civil Division 51 (Presiding Judge Kwon Seong-soo) held a hearing on Kim Moon-soo's application for a provisional injunction to suspend the cancellation of his presidential candidacy.
Holding a provisional injunction hearing on a holiday rather than a weekday is very unusual. This indicates that the court recognizes the urgency of the matter and intends to conduct proceedings swiftly. Legal circles anticipate that a decision may be reached as early as that night.
During the hearing that day, a debate erupted over whether the re-selection process for the People Power Party's presidential candidates was lawful.
Kim's side stated, “The party canceled the candidate selection at 2 a.m. and accepted candidate registrations between 3 and 4 a.m. Kim was unaware during that time,” and pointed out, “Depriving a candidate of qualification in this manner is nothing more than an act that shows an absence of intent to uphold even the minimum principles of a free democratic order.”
Kim added, “Political parties must fundamentally operate transparently and fairly, yet the party canceled the selection without the candidate's knowledge in the early hours and chose another candidate. In the history of political parties around the world, where is it done so undemocratically?”
A representative from the People Power Party countered, “The announcement in the early morning was unavoidably delayed due to the unification negotiations that ended a little past midnight the day before,” explaining, “It was physically unavoidable.”
Previously, Kim had applied for a provisional injunction to ban the national convention and confirm the temporary status of the candidates, but it was dismissed. The People Power Party then proceeded with procedures to cancel Kim's previous selection.
During the hearing that day, the court expressed, “Fundamentally, unification should be resolved internally within the party as much as possible and should not be subject to judicial scrutiny.”
However, it added, “It appears that there are no regulations in the party constitution regarding the cancellation of selected presidential candidates, and the party has not mentioned any grounds for cancellation,” expressing concern about how far to ensure the autonomy of political parties.
Regarding the cancellation of candidate selection, the People Power Party is citing Article 72, Paragraph 4 of the party constitution, which states 'When there are substantial reasons, the matters regarding the selection of the presidential candidate are determined by deliberation of the election management committee and a resolution of the Supreme Council (Emergency Response Committee).'
The current issues raised in the provisional injunction are broadly two-fold: whether there are grounds in the party constitution for cancellation or replacement of candidates, and whether the current situation applies those grounds. The leadership of the People Power Party seems to need to clarify whether this case falls under the 'substantial (valid and reasonable) reasons' clause of the party constitution.
It is also necessary to discuss whether the regulation in the party constitution, which states 'the matters regarding the selection of candidates are determined,' can be interpreted to include replacements of candidates elected by party members and public opinion. Additionally, it must be examined whether the internal body of the party has the authority to replace candidates elected by consensus. If there are no explicit regulations in the party constitution, it must be considered whether this can be interpreted as allowing for a replacement.
After the trial ended around 6:20 p.m. that day, Kim spoke with reporters, stating, “The democracy of political parties in South Korea is in crisis,” and questioned, “Is there any other country in the world where a candidate selected three times is faced with the cancellation of selection without the occurrence of death, resignation, or disqualification?
He further remarked, “I find that point unacceptable and requested the court to make a judgment today.”
Earlier, the People Power Party held a meeting of the Emergency Response Committee and the Election Management Committee early that morning to vote on the cancellation of Kim's selection and is following procedures to replace him with Han Duck-soo after a vote by all party members and the national committee.
In response, Kim stated, “The Emergency Response Committee illegally deprived me, Kim Moon-soo, of my qualifications as a presidential candidate duly elected by the choice of the people and party members,” and filed a provisional injunction.
On the 8th, Kim also filed a provisional injunction to recognize the presidential candidate status against the party, but the court dismissed it the day before.