Seoul: The floor leader of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) began a hunger strike Wednesday, intensifying pressure on the party's presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo to swiftly unify his candidacy with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo ahead of the June 3 election.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the move came after a meeting between Kim and Han to discuss a unified candidacy ended without an agreement. A follow-up meeting is expected Thursday. The two candidates have been seeking to consolidate conservative support by fielding a single candidate to counter Democratic Party contender Lee Jae-myung, who has been leading in recent opinion polls.

"With only 27 days left until the election, there's no time remaining. The Lee Jae-myung camp is effectively dismantling the Public Official Election Act's provision on false information and is even pushing for the impeachment of the chief justice of the Supreme Court," Rep. Kweon Seong-dong said. "Lee's camp is attempting to choke off the last breath of our constitutional order. In contrast, the PPP has yet to form a unified front," he added.

Speaking at a general meeting of PPP lawmakers at the National Assembly, Kweon reiterated his call for Kim -- who had promised swift candidacy unification during the party's presidential primary -- to honor his commitment. He stressed that the PPP bears a "historic and generational responsibility" to prevent Lee's liberal party from taking power. "I'm beginning a hunger strike today out of desperation. There can be no victory without unification," he said.