Deadline for merging candidacies

[Anchor]

With the resignation of acting Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, attention now turns to the unification between Han and the final candidate of the People Power Party.

Key issues are whether or not unification will take place, and if so, how it will be conducted. The People Power Party sees that unification must occur by the 8th at the latest.

Reporter Kim Min-hyuk has the details.

[Report]

Tomorrow (May 2), acting Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is expected to announce his candidacy for the presidential election.

For now, he is likely to register as an independent preliminary candidate.

Currently, the Prime Minister's Office staff is at the core, but he plans to strengthen his election campaign by recruiting influential figures and reviewing policies and pledges.

The presidential candidate of the People Power Party will be decided at the party convention on the 3rd, two days from now.

Both candidates, Kim Moon-soo and Han Dong-hoon, agree on the necessity of a so-called 'big tent' and unification against candidate Lee Jae-myung, so discussions on unification are expected to begin regardless of who becomes the final candidate.

[Kwon Seong-dong/Leader of the People Power Party's National Assembly: "Building a bigger house will ultimately lay the groundwork for winning the election. Also, we do not know who will win in the competition between our party's candidate and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo."]

The problem is that time is tight.

With just over a week left until the candidate registration deadline on the 11th, the party's position is that candidate unification must be completed by the 7th or 8th at the latest.

Starting with rule negotiations, the schedule for TV debates and opinion polls among candidates must be completed within 4 to 5 days.

Since official campaigning begins at midnight on the 12th, there is a need for time to prepare for the actual campaign, such as campaign vehicles and campaign attire for supporters.

If unification is not achieved by the 8th, the candidate registration deadline will effectively become the deadline.

Even if the independent acting Prime Minister becomes the unified candidate, it will be practically difficult to campaign without joining the People Power Party.

This is KBS News, Kim Min-hyuk.