The People Power Party and the Reform Party are joining forces over allegations that a pro-ruling camp figure was involved in receiving money and valuables from the Unification Church. Attention is on whether the conservative opposition's alliance will continue through next year's local elections.
According to the political sphere on the 14th, the People Power Party and the Reform Party plan to meet as early as this week and jointly introduce a special prosecutor bill on the Unification Church.
Park Sung-hoon, senior spokesperson for the People Power Party, met with reporters the previous day and said, "Behind-the-scenes discussions are underway," adding, "Once Reform Party floor leader Cheon Ha-ram returns on the 16th, we plan to speed up the discussions. I think it will be possible to introduce the bill in the middle to latter part of the week."
Earlier, the leaders of the two parties also said they would move to jointly introduce the special prosecutor bill. After Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok said, "We propose a special counsel for the 'Unification Church Democratic Party political funds case,'" People Power Party floor leader Song Eon-seog responded, "We strongly welcome it. Let's root it out together."
The People Power Party and the Reform Party plan to each prepare a draft of the special prosecutor bill and then coordinate the details of the jointly introduced bill through working-level talks. The key issue is the right to recommend the special prosecutor.
The Reform Party says that because the People Power Party is not free from suspicions of ties to the Unification Church, both the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party should be excluded from the recommendation right. The People Power Party also says it will keep all options open and discuss the matter.
The conservative opposition parties, the People Power Party and the Reform Party, have recently been speaking with one voice on several issues. They have jointly criticized the government over the suspension of President Lee Jae-myung's trial and the controversy involving Kim Hyun-ji, the first senior secretary to the president's spouse, and when the Democratic Party attacked People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok over owning multiple homes, leader Lee Jun-seok stepped in to defend him.
In political circles, some are also predicting the possibility of an alliance between the People Power Party and the Reform Party for next year's local elections. Although officials from both parties say it is "getting too far ahead," as the likelihood grows of an alliance between the Democratic Party and minor parties aligned with the ruling camp, a conservative opposition alliance may be inevitable.