Seoul: Han Duck-soo, a former prime minister and current presidential hopeful for the conservative People Power Party (PPP), issued an apology on Saturday concerning the ongoing confusion over his potential candidacy merger with the party’s official presidential candidate, Kim Moon-soo.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Han’s apology followed strong opposition from some party members against the leadership’s unprecedented effort to nullify the party’s primary results and replace Kim with Han. The move came after failed negotiations between Han and Kim to merge their campaigns.

During his first press conference since announcing his candidacy earlier in the day, Han stated, “I sincerely apologize to the people and party members for the current situation, regardless of the reasons behind it.”

The PPP had previously selected Kim as its presidential candidate for the June 3 election through primary elections last week. However, the party later pressured Kim to withdraw and support Han, citing Han’s stronger performance in hypothetical polls against the liberal Democratic Party’s front-runner, Lee Jae-myung.

Following the unsuccessful talks for a unified campaign, the PPP canceled Kim’s nomination and registered Han as its new candidate in the early hours of Saturday. This decision was met with significant criticism from primary candidates and their supporters.

Expressing his willingness to unite all primary contenders, Han remarked, “I will be any ‘Duck-soo,’ whether it’s Kim Duck-soo, Hong Duck-soo, Ahn Duck-soo or Na Duck-soo.”

Han emphasized his focus on securing victory in the upcoming election, stating he has no interest in party leadership. “I will play a role just as a brief stepping stone … I sincerely hope that the party and the people step over my back and move into the next era,” he added.

Despite these efforts, Han’s third round of negotiations with Kim aimed at forming a unified candidacy failed to resolve their differences.

The PPP plans to call for an all-party vote on the motion for candidate reelection on Saturday and finalize its presidential candidate by Sunday, which is the deadline for candidate registration with the state election committee.

Kim criticized the party leadership’s actions as an “overnight political coup” and vowed to take all necessary legal steps to maintain his candidacy. He has filed a court injunction to prevent the party from canceling his candidacy, marking his second legal action since becoming the PPP’s presidential contender. The court’s decision is anticipated as early as late Saturday.