Kim Moon-soo, former presidential candidate of the People Power Party, filed for a provisional injunction to suspend the effect of the 'cancellation of the presidential candidate selection' on the 10th. This legal action was taken after the party leadership canceled his eligibility as a presidential candidate that day and registered Han Duck-soo, an independent preliminary candidate, as the sole candidate. The party leadership stated, 'we made a painful decision' and expressed that the procedure for candidate replacement would not stop. There are even predictions that, in the worst case, there may be no candidate representing the People Power Party with the 'number 2' symbol in this presidential election.
The side of Kim Moon-soo announced that around 12:35 p.m. on the same day, they submitted a request for a provisional injunction to suspend the effect of the People Power Party's cancellation of the 21st presidential candidate selection to the Seoul Southern District Court.
On the other hand, the party leadership stated that they would proceed with the 'reselection of candidates' procedure as scheduled, calling it a 'painful decision.'
Kwon Young-se, the chairman of the emergency response committee of the People Power Party, criticized Kim Moon-soo during a press conference held at the National Assembly, saying, 'He threw away the trust of the party members like a worn-out shoe. He has delayed time and effectively disrupted the unification.' He noted that '(the reselection of candidates) was our last slim hope to win this presidential election.' After conducting a vote on the reselection of candidates among all party members as planned that day, the plan is to approve one candidate as the final nominee at the national committee on the 11th.
Earlier that day, the party leadership held consecutive meetings of the emergency response committee and the election management committee in the early morning, approving the cancellation of Kim Moon-soo's candidate selection, Han Duck-soo's entry into the party, and the candidate registration. If the related procedures are completed without any hitches, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party representing 'number 2' will change from Kim Moon-soo to Han Duck-soo.
The unilateral candidate replacement just before the candidate registration date is unprecedented in party history. In the worst-case scenario, there are concerns that there may be no presidential candidate with 'number 2' in this election. First, there is a possibility that the motion for 'reselection of candidates' may not achieve a majority in the all-party vote. Moreover, if the provisional injunction requested by Kim's side is granted, the candidate replacement process initiated by the People Power Party leadership and the selection procedure for the former Prime Minister Han may be halted. The court is set to hold a hearing on the case at 5 p.m. on the weekend. The court had previously dismissed Kim's request for recognition of his presidential candidate status the day before.
After holding a press conference that morning, Kim Moon-soo remained in the central party's presidential candidate office before moving to the camp office to discuss future response strategies.
Kim Moon-soo's side argues that the party law does not allow bodies such as the emergency response committee to deprive a candidate selected within the party of their qualifications and sees the party leadership's 'proceeding with candidate replacement procedures' as violating the party constitution and party law. In the press conference, Kim noted, 'Last night, the emergency response committee of the People Power Party unjustly deprived me, Kim Moon-soo, of the presidential candidate qualifications that were rightfully chosen by the people and party members' and added, 'I will hold accountable the individuals responsible for causing this situation, both legally and politically.'
Candidates who had raced in the primary together also came forward, criticizing it as a 'forced unilateral candidacy.' Han Dong-hoon, a former representative of the People Power Party who made it to the finals alongside Kim, wrote on Facebook that they 'publicized the announcement suddenly, physically blocking other candidates' entry' and strongly criticized, 'Not even North Korea would do this.' Rep. Ahn, who participated in the second primary, also called it an 'illegal and unreasonable act that ignores the party constitution and democratic procedures.' Rep. Na Kyung-won, who also participated in the primary, criticized that 'a candidate in an abnormal replacement should never be registered as the People Power Party candidate with the election management committee.'
With just about 20 days left until the presidential election, the internal strife in the party deepens due to the 'forced candidate replacement incident.' Six-term lawmaker Cho Kyung-tae, a leader of the ‘pro-Han Dong-hoon faction,’ held a press conference that day, condemning it as 'a serious division of the party that could disrupt its existence,' and urged Han to resign. Lawmakers supporting the pro-Han faction are said to be discussing countermeasures regarding the forced candidate replacement incident under Cho's chairmanship.