By Ju-min Park
SEOUL (Reuters) – A Seoul court on Friday ruled the main conservative party could hold another convention to agree a presidential candidate amid a bitter dispute over who should represent the party in the June 3 election.
With the presidential election less than a month away, uniting conservatives behind a single candidate is seen as crucial if the People Power Party is to stand any chance of success against Democratic Party frontrunner Lee Jae-myung.
The PPP has asked its nominee Kim Moon-soo to merge his campaign with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, an independent candidate, but the process has descended into angry recriminations.
Kim requested an injunction against his own party to stop it from naming a new candidate. His supporters had also asked the court to block a new convention planned for Sunday, when candidate registration closes.
On Friday, the court rejected both applications, a spokesperson for the Seoul Southern District Court said.
At a gathering with PPP lawmakers where he was initially greeted with applause and a bouquet, Kim stressed he had been chosen as the party’s official presidential candidate through its primary.
“What is happening with unification now is nothing more or less than an attempt to bring me down and make an unaffiliated candidate who has never been verified in elections our party’s presidential candidate,” Kim told the party members.
“How can I join this kind of unification?” he said, accusing the party leadership of pressuring him to agree to terms to pick a single candidate between him and Han.
Party leaders have demanded Kim negotiate with Han to decide who will contest the election as the PPP candidate.
Han, who resigned as acting leader last week to run in the polls, is not a member of the PPP but was prime minister under ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol, a PPP member.
Yoon was removed from office in April over his shock martial law order, prompting the snap election.
On Thursday, Kim and Han met at an outdoor coffee shop but besides a hug and a handshake were unable to reach a resolution on the issue.
Han has said he will drop out of the race without an agreement with Kim before May 11.
(Reporting by Ju-min Park; Additional reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Kate Mayberry)
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