On Facebook, Korea's conservatives unite against Han Duck-soo

"Even North Korea wouldn’t do this," former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon wrote on Facebook on Saturday.

Former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon speaks after the conservative party's nomination of former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo as its candidate for the June 3 presidential election at the party's convention in Goyang, Gyeonggi, on May 3. [LIM HYEON-DONG]

Several former presidential contenders from the People Power Party (PPP) strongly criticized the party's leadership on Saturday over its unprecedented decision to revoke former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo's nomination and replace him with former acting President Han Duck-soo.

“The pro-Yoon faction in the party brought in their favored candidate at 3 a.m. and rammed through his solo nomination," former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon wrote on Facebook on Saturday. "Even North Korea wouldn’t do this."

Han Dong-hoon also questioned Han Duck-soo’s qualifications.

“He’s not generating any momentum, nor does he enjoy overwhelming public support — he’s just the former prime minister who stood by and failed to stop the martial law announcement, " Han Dong-hoon wrote.

"How many votes do they think he’ll get if he’s forced through like this as our nominee?" he continued. "The pro-Yoon faction only wants to preserve their own vested interests. They were never interested in victory."

PPP Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo also wrote on Facebook that he strongly opposed what he called the "candidate replacement farce.”

“This is shameful — utterly, unbearably shameful,” Ahn wrote. “The process of candidate unification should be carried out rationally by all forces opposing Lee Jae-myung’s authoritarian regime, for the sake of a unified victory.”

Ahn further questioned the motives behind the leadership’s move.

“This reeks of an attempt to seize control of the party, not a strategy for presidential victory,” he said. “It’s an illegal and shameless violation of the party charter and internal democracy. This will go down as an unprecedented day of disgrace in the global history of democratic parties.”

Ahn called for the party to acknowledge the results of the primary and return to a “normal process” of candidate unification.

People Power Party (PPP) presidential candidate Hong Joon-pyo announces his retirement from politics following his elimination from the second round of the party's primaries at the PPP headquarters in Yeouido, western Seoul, on April 29. [YONHAP]

Former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo also weighed in on Saturday, declaring that the PPP's attempt to replace its presidential candidate marked “the end of Korea’s conservative lemming party.”

“A first [person] self-destructs with martial law, and now two more forcibly replace the candidate and enact the final self-destruct,” Hong wrote on Facebook.

In response, former PPP leader Lee Jun-seok — the presidential candidate of the newly launched Reform Party — commented on Hong’s post, saying, “It seems we must now carry the torch of new politics that the youth of this country demand. Safe travels to America,” he added, referring to Hong’s departure for the United States scheduled for later that day.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]