Seoul: Members of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) voted down a motion Saturday to replace the party’s presidential candidate, Kim Moon-soo, with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, effectively ending a weeklong dispute over unifying the candidacy, officials said.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the party held an all-party vote to determine whether to approve the party leadership’s unprecedented move to nullify its primary results and replace Kim with Han, following the collapse of talks aimed at merging their candidacies.

Following the vote, the PPP reinstated Kim’s candidacy, with party officials noting that Kim is set to officially register his candidacy with the state election committee on Sunday. This deadline is crucial, as it is the final day for a party candidate to register for the upcoming election.

The attempt to replace Kim with Han emerged amid concerns that the failure to unify their candidacy could weaken the conservative camp’s position. With the liberal Democratic Party candidate, Lee Jae-myung, increasing his lead, party members feared that a divided conservative front could diminish their chances in the June 3 presidential poll.