(2nd LD) Ahn notifies Yoon of breakdown in presidential candidacy merger talks

(ATTN: CHANGES headline, lead; UPDATES with Yoon's press conference; TRIMS; CHANGES photo)
By Joo Kyung-don

SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Yonhap) -- Yoon Suk-yeol, presidential candidate of South Korea's main opposition party, announced Sunday he has been given a "ultimate notification" of a breakdown in talks with Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People's Party, on their proposed candidacy merger.

"Unfortunately, I was told that talks for a candidacy merger have ultimately broken down at 9 a.m. this morning," Yoon of the People Power Party (PPP) said in a press conference at his party's headquarters in Seoul.

Top aides to Yoon and Ahn had hours of negotiations overnight, but they failed to fix a schedule for a meeting between the candidates, with Sunday widely regarded as the de facto deadline for a deal. The state election commission is scheduled to start printing ballot papers for the March 9 presidential election Monday.

Yoon, however, said he is still willing to meet Ahn anytime and anywhere.

"If he decides the time and place now ... I would like to meet him directly and have a heart-to-heart talk. I will be waiting for his reply," Yoon said.

A week earlier, Ahn made public his decision to withdraw a proposal to merge candidacies, citing a lack of a response from Yoon's camp. But the two sides have since continued unannounced negotiations.

Ahn had proposed merging campaigns with Yoon to boost the opposition's chances of winning the election against Lee Jae-myung of the liberal ruling Democratic Party (DP).

Yoon and Lee are neck and neck with each garnering around 40 percent of voter support, while Ahn ranks third with roughly 10 percent, various polls show.

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