South Korea's conservative party first canceled and then brought back their presidential candidate Kim Moon Soo in just a few hours. This happened because of growing problems inside the party before the election on June 3.

On Saturday, there was a confusing change after they failed to replace Kim with Han Duck-soo. This showed the People Power Party has problems with its leaders. This happened after former President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed because he used martial law in December. This probably made it harder for the conservatives to win the next election.

Kim, a strong conservative and former minister, became the party's candidate on May 3 after winning more than half of the votes. But the party leaders, who supported the current president, strongly asked Kim to step down and support Han, because they believed Han had a better chance to win against the main liberal candidate.

Talks between Han and Kim failed to unite them. So, the PPP decided to cancel Kim’s nomination and make Han the new presidential candidate. This was the first time they had done this. But, this change needed approval from all party members. They voted by phone, but they did not approve the change on Saturday night.

The party spokesman, Shin Dong-wook, said, "We cannot share the exact numbers, but the vote to change the candidate was rejected by a small difference." Kim had called the party's attempt to replace him a "quick political takeover." He was immediately put back as the candidate. The party said he plans to officially register with the election officials on Sunday.

"Now everything will be restored to its proper order," Kim stated.

Kim, who is 73, was a well-known supporter of workers' rights in the 1970s and 80s. But in the 90s, he joined a more traditional political party. He said he stopped wanting to be a "revolutionist" after seeing communist countries fail. Since then, he worked for eight years as the leader of South Korea’s Gyeonggi area and was elected to the National Assembly three times.

Han became acting president after Yoon was removed from his position by the government in December and by the Constitutional Court in April. He left his job on May 2 because he wanted to run for president. He thought his many years working for the public made him a good choice to lead the country during a time of increasing global problems and trade issues, which were made worse by the actions of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Han, who had asked for unity after becoming the candidate, said he accepts what the party members want.

In recent polls, Han and Kim are far behind Lee. Lee, who led the Democrats' efforts to remove Yoon, made fun of the PPP's attempt to change candidates. He told reporters, "I've heard of forced marriages, but never forced unity."