Jung Chung-rae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, on the 22nd proposed a merger with the Rebuilding Korea Party.
Jung said at an emergency press conference at the National Assembly that morning, "I believe the Democratic Party of Korea and the Rebuilding Korea Party should now, not separately but together, run as one team based on the spirit of the times for the shared goal of the Lee Jae-myung administration's success," adding, "I hope a working-level table will be set up as soon as possible for the merger of the two parties."
Jung said, "At the time of the Rebuilding Korea Party's founding, we spoke of being separate yet together," and added, "We ran the 22nd general election separately, and we ran the 21st presidential election together." He continued, "The Democratic Party of Korea and the Rebuilding Korea Party together opposed the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, and together overcame the Dec. 3 emergency martial law rebellion."
Jung stressed, "I would like us to run the June 3 local elections together this time as well," adding, "The success of the Lee Jae-myung administration and victory in the local elections are the spirit of the times. The spirit of the times pursued by the Democratic Party of Korea and the Rebuilding Korea Party is not different."
Park Soo-hyun, the Democratic Party's chief spokesperson, met with reporters after Jung's announcement and said, "Jung and Cho Kuk communicated multiple times on this matter and agreed yesterday afternoon on the content of today's proposal announcement," adding, "I don't know how Cho will respond, but they agreed on today's proposal."
Park, the chief spokesperson, said, "If there is a response from the Rebuilding Korea Party, we should set up a working-level table and discuss the rest," adding, "Under the party rules, we go through various procedures such as a full-members debate, so you can see the discussion as having started today."
On proposing a merger rather than mutual solidarity, he said, "There was a decision based on political judgment," adding, "I believe it is important to coordinate well and reach agreement so that we can arrive at the outcome proposed by the Democratic Party of Korea."