Sohn Hak-kyu Blocks Barunmirae, Alternative, and Peace Party Merger... "Honam New Party Must Not Revert to Old Practices"

"Ratification of the 3-Party Agreement is a Delicate Issue... Deferred Until the Next Supreme Council Meeting"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Sohn Hak-kyu, leader of the Bareunmirae Party, put a brake on the merger of the Bareunmirae Party, the Alternative New Party, and the Party for Democracy and Peace on the 17th.

After the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Sohn told reporters, "The ratification of the three-party agreement is a cautious matter, and we need to broadly gather opinions from the public and party members, so the review has been postponed," adding, "For now, it will be postponed until the next Supreme Council meeting."

Sohn emphasized, "Regionalism for electoral convenience cannot be our choice. Our politics must not regress to old practices," and "The founding of a new party in Honam can never be a new development."

Sohn stated, "When the centrist reform forces firmly uphold the third way and take the lead in political reform and generational change reform, they will be able to receive the people's choice in the general election," and added, "We must open the way for the younger generation to create a multi-party parliament through the mixed-member proportional representation system. That is the first step in political structural reform."

Sohn said, "Some influential politicians making it easier to be elected in elections, or merging and splitting into regionalist parties to gain a few more seats, are not political structural reforms," and added, "The path we must take is to have the future generation, free from regionalism and ideology, become the main actors in politics and carry out pragmatic centrist reform politics."