The Democratic Party of Korea is starting a full-scale process to gather opinions on a merger with the Rebuilding Korea Party. It is expected to go through meetings by lawmaker seniority, followed by a general meeting of lawmakers and a partywide poll. But with opposition inside the party still strong, attention is growing to whether Jung Chung-rae's standing will change.
On the morning of the 4th, at a supreme council meeting at the National Assembly, Jung said, "How about we try a partywide poll on whether to merge? I will discuss it with the supreme council members," adding, "We will take time to listen."
At the supreme council, tensions appear to be rising over the merger issue. The "anti-merger" camp said, "There is even talk that the Democratic Party is being used as a host for a certain person's presidential game (Supreme Council member Lee Un-ju)," and "We must halt merger talks immediately (Supreme Council member Kang Deuk-gu)." The pro-merger side shot back, saying, "They are inflating an internal conflict that does not even exist (Supreme Council member Lee Seong-yoon)."
Inside the party, discussions are already underway among sitting lawmakers. The group of two-term Democratic Party lawmakers "Deo Min Jae" held a meeting at the National Assembly members' office building in the morning to exchange views on the merger. Lawmaker Kang Jun-hyun, operating committee chair of Deo Min Jae, said, "The phase of conflict should neither continue nor intensify," adding, "There was consensus that we need to establish an internal deliberative body to discuss the matter in depth."
The freshman lawmakers' group "Deo Min Cho," largely aligned with the pro–Lee Jae-myung faction, is set to meet Jung on the 5th. Earlier, on the 23rd, Deo Min Cho issued a statement saying, "Immediately stop the unilateral push for a merger," and "Do not cause internal conflict and division under the pretext of election victory," raising its criticism.
Jung's leadership, after his flagship pledge of "one person, one vote" cleared the Central Committee, is set to be tested again by the merger issue. The Democratic Party leadership plans to set the date for a general meeting of lawmakers or a partywide vote through consultations. Jung has signaled the intent to break through the merger conflict with the Rebuilding Korea Party by securing support from dues-paying members.
Park Soo-hyun, the Democratic Party's chief spokesperson, said, "The party member poll will be set through consultations between the party leader and supreme council members, and after internal debates, we plan to proceed with a partywide vote," adding, "The party leader intends to conduct the process so that party members' voices are not left out."