Will the Democratic Party and Justice Innovation Party Merge? Insights from Recent Discussions

The Democratic Party held a general meeting on the 10th to discuss a potential merger with the Justice Innovation Party. They concluded that pursuing a merger at this time would be difficult. In response, the Justice Innovation Party declared, “We are the victims who have suffered considerably (because of the Democratic Party).”
Park Byeong-eon, senior spokesperson for the Justice Innovation Party, stated during a radio interview, “Regardless of whether a merger occurs, we should receive an appropriate level of apology.”
Regarding the possibility of a merger after the June local elections, he said it’s “not zero,” but depends on how the Democratic Party addresses the insults directed at the Justice Innovation Party.
He added, “It depends on how gently the knife that stabbed the Justice Innovation Party, whether intentionally or not, is withdrawn.”
Park continued, “Originally, we were working together as allies for the success of the Lee Jae-myung government, but this process has now left scars. The party leadership must take action to allow members to greet each other and say, ‘Let’s be patient and move forward.'”
On the same day, the Democratic Party held a general meeting in the National Assembly. Chief Spokesperson Park Soo-hyun reported that party members shared a consensus on the difficulty of pursuing the merger proposed by Representative Jeong Cheong-rae on January 22, ahead of the local elections.
After the meeting, Spokesperson Park explained, “Members generally agreed on the necessity of integration, but concluded that pursuing a merger under the current circumstances, although justified, is challenging.”
He added, “Even though the proposal for a merger with the Justice Innovation Party stemmed from a genuine desire for ‘success in governance through a sweeping victory in the local elections,’ we acknowledged that it is leading to conflicts in the process.”