”Kim Moon-soo/Lee Jun-seok” unification is virtually ”disappeared” = South Korean presidential election

Presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo of the ruling People Power Party and candidate Lee Jun-seok of the New Reform Party
As of the 28th, there was a view that the unification had "effectively gone to waste."
In fact, the ruling party and the New Reform Party are focusing on appealing for “strategic voting” assuming a “three-way presidential election.” The ruling party is promoting “Kim Moon-soo’s self-reliance theory” and “Lee Jun-seok’s resignation theory.”
The party is now putting more effort into the public opinion battle, which is seen as reflecting the mood within the party that "it has become difficult to unify with candidate Lee."
A spokesman for the ruling party said at a press conference on the same day, "The issue of unification is now being mechanically resolved with a deadline.
"It doesn't seem like it's an issue that can be resolved through negotiations and contact between us," he said.
Some within the party are also arguing that Lee Jun-seok is unnecessary.
This is because "the public criticism of Candidate Lee's 'commentary on violent language regarding women's bodies' during the TV debate the previous day (27th) has had an impact on the unification issue."
Regarding this, a key member of the ruling party's election strategy committee considered Lee's remarks to be "bad news," and said, "This is not a question of the pros and cons of unification, but a question of the situation itself."
The situation has been turned upside down," he said.