[Herald Economy = Reporter Jo Su-hyun] On February 10, Democratic Party of Korea members agreed that pursuing a merger with the Justice Innovation Party would be difficult at this time. While they generally support unification, they believe discussions about the merger should be postponed until after the June 3 local elections or the August party convention due to intense internal party conflicts.
Democratic Party spokesperson Park Soo-hyun told reporters after a party meeting at the National Assembly, “We acknowledge that even if the proposal to merge with the Justice Innovation Party was genuinely intended to support the Lee Jae-myung administration’s success through a landslide victory in local elections, the process has resulted in conflict.”
Park continued, “While members generally agree on the need for unification, they recognize that pursuing a merger now is challenging, despite having valid reasons.” He urged the party’s Supreme Council to swiftly conclude based on today’s meeting results.
Of the over 20 members who spoke during the meeting, very few opposed the merger outright. However, some voiced concerns about merging before the local elections, while others expressed reservations about merging afterward. Park explained, “One or two members didn’t explicitly oppose but raised concerns about a post-election merger. Overall, most comments supported the merger.”
In the wake of the merger proposal and subsequent public disputes, calls emerged for apologies from Representative Jung and Supreme Council members. A two-term lawmaker stated, “An apology for mismanaging the process is necessary to move forward after resolving the merger discussions.”
Regarding this, Park noted, “While there were valid reasons for the merger proposal, and the representative has already apologized for how it was presented, there are still calls for further apologies. Some Supreme Council members felt certain issues should have been addressed internally rather than at external press conferences, and apologies were requested for that as well.”
Park also reported that Representative Jeong Cheong-rae stated, “I will work towards a good conclusion based on the meeting results and discussions with the Supreme Council.”
The Democratic Party is expected to officially announce their decision to halt merger discussions at the Supreme Council meeting on February 11, following today’s Supreme Council meeting. The party had initially planned a Supreme Council meeting in North Jeolla Province on the 11th but postponed it.
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