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Kim Moon-soo (left), who secured a spot in the third round of the People Power Party’s (PPP) primary race for the 21st presidential election, delivers remarks at the PPP headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on April 29. / Photo by Lee Byung-hwa, photolbh@

Kim Moon-soo and Han Dong-hoon have advanced to the final runoff in the People Power Party’s (PPP) second presidential primary, held on April 29. The outcome is once again being interpreted through the lens of an enduring rift within the party—between pro-impeachment (“찬탄”) and anti-impeachment (“반탄”) factions.

Political observers noted that, much like the first round of the primary—which was based solely on public opinion—the latest results reflected a deep divide. In the first round, Ahn Cheol-soo and Han Dong-hoon represented the pro-impeachment bloc, while Kim Moon-soo and Hong Joon-pyo were seen as aligned with the anti-impeachment camp.

The PPP's election commission announced the results, confirming that Kim Moon-soo and Han Dong-hoon will advance to a final runoff. No candidate among the four finalists—Kim, Ahn Cheol-soo, Han, and Hong Joon-pyo—secured a majority of the combined vote, prompting a head-to-head race between the top two finishers.

The second round was based on a 50-50 weighting of party member votes and a public opinion poll. The party vote, conducted between April 27 and 28, saw a turnout of 390,004 out of 765,773 eligible members, or 50.93 percent. The public opinion survey was carried out by five polling agencies and included 6,000 respondents, with measures to prevent reverse selection. The PPP did not disclose the individual candidates’ rankings or vote percentages. 

A senior official within the party told this paper that the second-round primary results once again underscored the ongoing divide between pro-impeachment and anti-impeachment factions within the party. “This runoff also played out as a split between the two camps,” the official said. “The fact that no candidate secured a majority even among party members indicates that, contrary to expectations from the conservative base, support for Han Dong-hoon remains significant.”

With Kim Moon-soo and Han Dong-hoon now heading into the final round, attention is turning to their potential alignment with Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. Analysts are closely watching which of the two candidates could take the lead in forming a political alliance with Han, as such a move could be a decisive factor in the final outcome.

However, any such scenario assumes that either Kim or Han Dong-hoon maintains stronger public support than Han Duck-soo himself—an open question that could shape the party’s ultimate nominee.