South Korea: PPP's Kim to meet with ex-President Park ahead of election

Seoul, May 24 South Korean People Power Party (PPP) candidate Kim Moon-soo will pay a courtesy visit to former President Park Geun-hye on Saturday, party officials said, just 10 days ahead of the presidential election.

Kim will travel to the southeastern city of Daegu to meet Park at her home later in the day, the PPP said.

He will be accompanied by top party officials, including Rep. Yun Jae-ok, the PPP's chief campaign manager, and PPP spokesman Shin Dong-wook.

It will mark the first time Kim will meet with Park since he won the nomination earlier this month.

Kim is also scheduled to visit the birthplace of former South Korean President Park Chung-hee, the father of ex-President Park Geun-hye, in Gumi, about 200 kilometres southeast of Seoul.

The visit comes ahead of the June 3 presidential election to choose the successor to former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached over a botched martial law attempt in December, Yonhap news agency reported.

On May 23, South Korean Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said that he met former President Moon Jae-in, with the presidential election.

The meeting between Lee and Moon came as they paid their respects at a memorial service marking the 16th anniversary of the death of former President Roh Moo-hyun in the village of Bongha, where Roh lived after his retirement.

It was the first time that the DP candidate had met Moon since he won the nomination.

During the meeting, Moon asked Lee to build a nation that respects the will of the people, the DP candidate told reporters.

They also raised concerns that the misuse of prosecutorial power played a significant role in deteriorating South Korea's institutions and deepening social division over the past three years, according to Rep. Cho Seung-rae, the DP's senior spokesperson.

Meanwhile, in a Realmeter survey conducted on 1,009 adults from Thursday to Friday, Lee led the poll with 46.6 per cent, down 1.5 percentage points from the previous poll.

Support for his Kim Moon-soo also dropped 1 percentage point to 37.6 per cent, while Lee Jun-seok of the minor New Reform Party came in third with 10.4 per cent, up 1 percentage point.

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