Son Hak-kyu's White Army Service... Completion of 'Honam 3-Party' Integration

Kim Jeong-hwa, Spokesperson of Bareunmirae Party, Appointed as Unified Party Leader
Son Steps Down After 1 Year 6 Months... "Protecting the Third Way"

Son Hak-kyu, leader of the Bareunmirae Party, Choi Kyung-hwan, leader of the Alternative New Party, and Chung Dong-young, leader of the Democratic Peace Party, who are promoting the integration of the third zone, are attending a joint meeting of the steering committee held at the National Assembly on the 24th, exchanging fist bumps. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The three parties based in Honam?the Bareunmirae Party, the Alternative Shin-dang, and the Democratic Peace Party?completed the merger process on the 24th after numerous twists and turns. The spokesperson of the Bareunmirae Party, Kim Jeong-hwa, was appointed as the representative of the unified party. As a result, they have established a one-on-one competitive structure with the Democratic Party of Korea in Honam, just over 50 days before the general election.

Park Joo-seon, Chairman of the Bareunmirae Party’s Grand Integration Reform Committee; Yoo Seong-yeop, Chairman of the Alternative Shin-dang Integration Promotion Committee; and Park Joo-hyun, Chairman of the Democratic Peace Party Integration Promotion Committee, held a joint meeting of the three parties’ authorized bodies at the National Assembly on the morning of the same day. They finalized the name, party constitution and regulations, and platform and policies of the new unified party, then submitted the registration application to the Central Election Commission.

Initially, the merger negotiations among the three parties faced difficulties over leadership positions, but a final agreement was reached following Son Hak-gyu, leader of the Bareunmirae Party, declaring his voluntary withdrawal from leadership. Son stepped down from his position as party leader after serving for one year and six months since his election in September 2018. Instead, Son nominated spokesperson Kim as the representative of the unified party. Previously, the three-party integration promotion meeting decided to elect three co-representatives, each recommended by one party leader, and to register the co-representative recommended by the Bareunmirae Party as the unified party’s representative with the Central Election Commission.

At the final Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Son said, "I now wish to return to being an ordinary party member. I will protect the third way, which I have defended with my life, until the end," adding, "I will contribute my small strength to the party’s victory in the general election and to the upcoming constitutional amendment discussions, and do my best in those roles."

He also stated, "I nominate spokesperson Kim as the party representative and Lee In-hee, chief secretary to the party leader, as a Supreme Council member," emphasizing, "Our party must become younger. The newly formed unified party must not be stigmatized as a regional party or old-fashioned politics. We must become a young, dynamic party that leads the way in overcoming our country’s difficulties and pioneers the future."

With the general election approaching, the three parties are expected to quickly transition to an election committee system. In this process, there is speculation that Son may take on the role of election committee chairman and play a part in the general election. It is also known that Son is currently receiving invitations to run in the general election from both inside and outside the party.