South Korea's ruling People Power Party in confusion over official candidate selection for presidential election - election campaign begins today

The South Korean presidential election, which will be held on the 3rd of next month, began today, the 12th. The former chairman of the largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea, Lee Jae-myung, and the former chairman of the ruling party, the People Power Party, Kim Moon-soo, are among the candidates.
Seven candidates, including Minister of Labor Lee, are running for the presidency. In opinion polls, Lee is leading the approval ratings as the most suitable person to be the next president, while the People's Power Party, which is starting from a disadvantage, has decided to unify its official candidate.
The party executive tried to temporarily revoke Kim's endorsement and replace him with former Prime Minister Han Deok-soo, but the proposal was rejected by a party member vote, and Kim was reinstated as the party's endorsed candidate, an unprecedented move.
South Korean media outlet Edaily reported, "Candidate Kim has regained his seat as candidate, but it is unclear whether he will be able to resolve the aftereffects of causing internal friction."
The presidential election is being held following the impeachment of former President Yoon Seok-yeol last month. Candidate registration closed on the 11th, and seven candidates ran.
In the National Indicators Survey, Lee was ranked as the most suitable person to be the next president with 43% approval rating, far ahead of Kim (12%) and others.
On the 3rd of this month, the People Power Party selected Kim as its official candidate.
In order to win the election, the party was forced to narrow down its candidates. In this situation, the party executive tried to narrow down its candidates to Han, who had declared his candidacy as an independent and expected to receive support from moderate voters. Kim and Han
Practical negotiations were held but failed. As a result, the party executive withdrew Kim's endorsement and began the process of replacing him with Han. Kim rebelled against the forced replacement of the endorsed candidate, voicing his opposition.
"Something democratic has happened. Our party's democracy has died," he said in anger. He went on to declare that "those responsible for this situation will be held legally and politically accountable," and threatened to take the matter to court.
As criticism of the party executive's heavy-handed approach was raised within the party, the party held a vote on the 10th to ask whether it was okay to replace the official candidate. As a result, the number of people opposed exceeded the number of people in favor, and the replacement was rejected.
The candidate change was scrapped and Kim's eligibility as a candidate was restored. Kim registered as a presidential candidate with the Central Election Commission on the 11th. After registering, Kim said, "I am very grateful to the people of South Korea for this presidential election.
"This is an important election to choose a president who can overcome Korea's crisis and work for the happiness of the people," he said, adding, "I will definitely be elected and will do my best to make Korea a great country."
Meanwhile, at a press conference on the 11th, Han said, "I take seriously the encouragement and criticism that I received before and after my presidential candidacy," and added, "I will accept everything with humility."
"I accept that," he said. He also said he would do everything he could to support Kim in winning the election. Kwon Yong-se, head of the party's interim executive committee and chairman of the emergency response committee, who led the change in candidate, said,
"The decision was made to field a competitive candidate, but I was unable to obtain the consent of party members," Kwon said. "I apologize for causing concern to party members and the public due to the confusion in the procedures and process.
I apologize." Former President Yoon also commented on this series of developments on his social media on the 11th, saying, "We must now unite."
Kim, the People Power Party's official candidate, was a former member of the conservative traditional stronghold of South Gyeongsang Province in the southeast.
He participated in the Democratic Party and Democratic Movement, and served three terms as a member of the National Assembly from 1996 to 2006, and two terms as governor of Gyeonggi Province, near Seoul, from 2006 to 2014. He was appointed Minister of Employment and Labor in the Yoon administration.
On the other hand, he has also caused controversy in the past with his extreme remarks. The South Korean presidential election campaign kicked off today, the 12th. The election campaign will continue for about three weeks until the voting day on the 3rd of next month.
While candidate Lee, endorsed by the Democratic Party of Korea, is leading the polls, candidate Kim, endorsed by the People Power Party, is entering the election campaign without even enough time to prepare.
Regarding the situation "power" is in, the article states, "Confusion has emerged over the change of candidate, and it is thought that this will inevitably have an impact on the election."