Seoul: Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo announced on Monday his proposal for a meeting with the People Power Party's (PPP) presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo, amid rising expectations for a unified candidacy for the upcoming June 3 election. Han mentioned that he made the proposal during a brief conversation at a Buddha's Birthday ceremony held at Jogye Temple in central Seoul.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Han expressed that he had the opportunity to speak with Kim three times, and while Kim did not give a definitive answer, he responded with a tentative "yes." This proposal comes in the context of increasing calls for a unified conservative front to challenge the Democratic Party (DP) candidate Lee Jae-myung, who currently leads in opinion polls.

Kim Moon-soo, who recently secured the PPP's presidential nomination following the ouster of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, acknowledged the encounter with Han but refrained from commenting on the possibility of merging candidacies. Kim's team confirmed the meeting but noted that discussions were limited to scheduling another meeting, suggesting that forming a single candidacy might be a complex process.

Han, having announced his presidential bid on Friday, is considered a strong contender among conservatives to oppose the DP's Lee. Despite mounting pressure within the PPP to merge the candidacies, Kim emphasized in a message that he requested the party's election management committee to create a mechanism for candidate unification, indicating that the process would continue as planned.

The PPP announced plans on Sunday to establish an organization aimed at promoting the unification of Kim and Han's candidacies. Han's camp expressed willingness to let the PPP determine the merger's terms. A Realmeter survey released Monday showed that 30 percent of respondents favored Han as the most suitable single candidate for the conservative bloc, compared to Kim's 21.9 percent.