Talks on a merger between the Democratic Party of Korea and the Rebuilding Korea Party will reach a critical juncture on the 10th. Although Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae has taken the helm, some predict the plan is effectively being abandoned amid fierce opposition inside and outside the party.
The Democratic Party plans to decide whether to merge with the Rebuilding Korea Party through a supreme council meeting after holding a meeting of second-term lawmakers and a general assembly of lawmakers on the 10th. Chief spokesperson Park Soo-hyun told reporters on the 9th, "We will broadly gather opinions at the general assembly and, based on that, the supreme council will reach a conclusion on whether to pursue the merger."
While the party says it will pool lawmakers' views through the general assembly, internal opinion is coalescing around "no merger before the local elections." Supreme Council member Lee Un-ju said at the supreme council meeting that day, "Many first-term, second-term, and multi-term lawmakers in our party are opposed or concerned," adding, "You can't drag the parties into an unwanted marriage."
Rep. Lee Geon-tae, a pro-Lee Jae-myung figure, also said on YTN radio, "It seems there is far more opposition to pursuing a merger at this point," adding, "Forcing a merger amid widespread opposition would do more harm than good."
The Blue House, including President Lee Jae-myung, is also said to take a negative view of pursuing a merger before the local elections. With party–presidential office tensions already flaring once during the second special counsel candidate recommendation process, it would be burdensome for leader Jung Chung-rae to push ahead with a merger.
There is also speculation that, through the second-term lawmakers' meeting and the general assembly, leader Jung will look for an "exit strategy." One projection is that he will present a compromise to leave the merger as a long-term task and continue discussions after the local elections.
However, there remains a possibility that leader Jung will press ahead with the merger. He is known to believe that a merger with the Rebuilding Korea Party is necessary to win the local elections.
Chief spokesperson Park Soo-hyun said in an MBC radio interview, "Leader Jung said of the lawmakers' opinions he has heard so far, 'There are slight differences in tone, but it is not difficult to grasp the overall flow,'" adding, "The views are tight and there aren't big differences."