Did South Korean Presidential Candidate Kim Seek Support from Ex-President Park?

Seoul, May 24 (NationPress) Kim Moon-soo, the presidential candidate from South Korea's People Power Party (PPP), made a courtesy call on former President Park Geun-hye on Saturday, seeking her backing for the upcoming presidential election, according to officials.

During his visit to Park's residence in the southeastern city of Daegu, a known stronghold for the PPP, this marked Kim's first encounter with Park since he secured his nomination earlier this month.

Park highlighted the necessity of moving past previous grievances and coming together as a unified front to secure electoral victory, despite the numerous challenges facing the party, as reported by PPP spokesperson Shin Dong-wook.

In response, Kim acknowledged the difficulties of the party primaries but reaffirmed his commitment to working diligently for electoral success, expressing optimism regarding Park's support.

Before their meeting, Kim paid a visit to the birthplace of Park's father, former President Park Chung-hee, located in Gumi, approximately 200 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

Kim remarked, "Former President Park Chung-hee laid the groundwork for the prosperity we enjoy today." He also stressed that the honor of former President Park Geun-hye must be fully restored, referencing her removal from office in 2017 due to a corruption scandal.

While campaigning in the region, Kim publicly apologized for the many shortcomings of himself and the party, including issues stemming from the martial law and the economic difficulties experienced during former President Yoon Suk Yeol's administration.

Yoon faced impeachment last month for declaring martial law in December, which ultimately led to the upcoming presidential election scheduled for June 3, as reported by Yonhap.

In the meantime, Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung continues to lead significantly in the race for the June 3 election, according to recent surveys.

A Realmeter survey of 1,009 adults conducted from Thursday to Friday indicated that Lee is leading with 46.6 percent, a slight decrease of 1.5 percentage points from the previous poll.

Support for Kim Moon-soo dropped 1 percentage point to 37.6 percent, while Lee Jun-seok from the minor New Reform Party ranked third with 10.4 percent, an increase of 1 percentage point.

In a hypothetical two-way race, Lee garnered 51.1 percent, followed by Kim with 43.9 percent. In a similar scenario against Lee Jun-seok, Lee Jae-myung led with 48.9 percent against 37 percent for the New Reform Party candidate.

The margin of error for the survey was noted at 3.1 percentage points with a 95 percent confidence level.