The Democratic Party of Korea dismissed the talk of a merger with the Reform Party that has been spreading on some YouTube channels.
Spokesperson Shin Hyun-young said in a media notice on the 29th, "We inform you that the 'Lee Jun-seok–Democratic Party merger rumor' recently raised on some YouTube channels is not true at all."
She added, "We ask that you take care in reporting so that false information does not spread and lead to baseless speculation and fake news."
Former Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok resigned from the leadership on the 26th, taking political responsibility for defeats in the June 3 local elections and other issues.
In response, some YouTube channels are interpreting this as a move in line with President Lee Jae-myung's "structural majority theory" and Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok's establishment of a "grand unity task force," and are raising merger rumors.