Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Liberty Korea Party, Shim Jae-cheol, floor leader of the Liberty Korea Party, and affiliated lawmakers greeted returning holiday travelers at the Seoul Station platform in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 23rd, a day before the Lunar New Year holiday./Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Attention is focused on whether discussions on conservative unification, encompassing centrists and conservatives, will progress around the Lunar New Year. While the core parties of the unification, the Liberty Korea Party and the New Conservative Party, still show differences over embracing the Our Republican Party, the meeting between leader Hwang Kyo-ahn and Conservative Reconstruction Committee Chairman Yoo Seung-min has also become a point of interest. Former Bareunmirae Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo's declaration to form an independent new party and enter the third zone is another variable.
The Korea Party and the New Conservative Party met with returning holiday travelers at Seoul Station on the 23rd, a day before the Lunar New Year, to offer New Year's greetings, but the meeting between leader Hwang and Chairman Yoo did not take place. When asked by reporters about a meeting after the holiday, Hwang replied, "It is not appropriate to talk about with whom and how because it involves the other party," and added, "We will continue efforts so that the free right-wing can unite and pool all their strength," withholding further comments.
Earlier, leader Hwang had proposed a breakfast meeting with Chairman Yoo on the 23rd. Yoo responded through a press release, saying, "I conveyed that it would be better to meet after some level of consultation between the two parties has progressed." Leader Hwang proposed a meeting before the holiday, but Yoo declined. Although the Korea Party and the New Conservative Party formed a consultative body and entered unification talks, many issues remain to be resolved before forming a unified new party, and there was speculation that a decisive meeting between the leaders before the holiday would settle matters. The Korea Party's plan to present concrete proposals for conservative unification at the Lunar New Year table also fell through.
The most contentious issue is unification with the Our Republican Party. The Korea Party holds the position that to unify the entire conservative camp, even the Our Republican Party must be included, but the New Conservative Party has stated that it would withdraw from the unification lineup if unification with the Our Republican Party occurs. The Korea Party has given full authority to Kim Hyung-oh, the nomination committee chairman, to proceed with candidate selection, but the possibility of friction between the two parties during the nomination process cannot be ruled out. Chairman Yoo's recent suggestion of an electoral alliance assuming unification failure is also a source of concern.
Less than a month remains until the planned launch of the unified new party. On the 22nd, the Innovation and Integration Promotion Committee (Hyuktongwi), the body leading centrist-conservative unification discussions, held a meeting and confirmed the unification date for mid-next month. According to the roadmap, Hyuktongwi will collect discussions and outcomes of unification talks with registered parties and civic groups from the 23rd to the 30th, then review achievements and discuss unification-related matters from the 27th to the 30th. On the 31st, a first public report on the results of the pan-centrist-conservative unification will be held. From the 1st to the 3rd of next month, preparations will be made to form the unified new party founding committee, with the committee launching in early next month, and the unified new party will be launched in mid-next month.
Meanwhile, former lawmaker Ahn, who has been continuously courted by Hyuktongwi, declared the formation of a centrist new party, breaking away from the unification front and forming an independent force. Hyuktongwi also brought in Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong, another centrist-conservative figure, to participate, but Ahn's symbolic significance within the centrist forces is by no means small. Hyuktongwi Chairman Park Hyung-joon appealed to Ahn, saying, "A decision like YS's 'three-party unification' is needed," urging him to join the unification lineup.
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