Kim Moon-soo, the presidential candidate from the People Power Party, has regained his candidacy status after resolving internal party conflicts. It appears that the injunction lawsuit he filed against the party will be concluded either by the court's dismissal decision or by Kim's withdrawal of the lawsuit.
Earlier, Kim's side filed an injunction at the Seoul Southern District Court, requesting the suspension of the effectiveness of his presidential candidacy, after the People Power Party leadership urgently convened a meeting of the emergency response committee and the election management committee early in the morning of the 10th to push for a replacement of the presidential candidate.
The Civil Affairs Division 51 of the Seoul Southern District Court, led by Chief Judge Kwon Sung-soo, conducted a hearing that afternoon. Kim's side requested the court to suspend the validity of the party's candidate cancellation and the announcement of the election candidate registration application, and to ensure that the party does not grant presidential candidate status to a third party.
However, after the hearing, while the court was drafting its decision, Kim regained his candidacy through a party member vote, rendering the lawsuit virtually meaningless. Initially, the legal community anticipated that the court's decision would come out that night.
If the court determines that Kim has no practical benefit to gain from the lawsuit, it may issue a 'dismissal' decision based on the circumstances of the day. Alternatively, there is speculation that Kim's side may withdraw the injunction application. A dismissal refers to terminating a lawsuit without proceeding to the merits because the case does not meet the litigation requirements.
The People Power Party announced on the night of the 10th that, as a result of a survey asking opinions from all party members on replacing the presidential candidate from Kim to former Prime Minister Han, there were more opposing opinions than supporting ones, leading to the rejection of the proposal.