After the Election, Have They Changed Their Minds...? Lukewarm Opposition Party Integration

People Power Party and People Party "Need to Hear Opinions" Requesting from Opponents for Now
Despite Past Presidential Election Defeat, Discussions Won't Break Down but Difficulties Expected
If Exhaustive Debates Prolong Tug-of-War, Public Fatigue Likely to Increase

Joo Ho-young, Acting Leader of the People Power Party, is attending the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 12th.

[Asia Economy reporters Hyunju Lee and Boryeong Geum] The People Power Party and the People’s Party have officially entered a tug-of-war to take the lead in merger discussions. While the prevailing view is that the merger talks will not break down considering next year’s presidential election, both parties currently believe that ‘buying time’ is necessary to determine which form of merger would be advantageous.

Joo Ho-young, acting leader of the People Power Party, said to reporters after the emergency committee meeting on the 12th, “Since merger discussions took place during the election process, it is most important to first find out what the People’s Party thinks about the merger,” adding, “We have requested their opinion, and once it is delivered, we plan to gather and organize our side’s views again.”

The People Power Party, which must elect its next leadership, believes it should conclude talks with the People’s Party as soon as possible. A second-term lawmaker from the People Power Party said, “The People’s Party says they will discuss the merger much later, but we cannot indefinitely delay the schedule while waiting for that,” adding, “We want to quickly wrap things up and hold a unified party convention.” However, so far, there have been no discussions within the People Power Party regarding opinion gathering on the merger or the schedule for the party convention. Internally, there is an opinion that the acting leader’s position should be settled quickly. If Acting Leader Joo runs for party leadership, he would have to step down as floor leader, and the newly formed leadership would have to handle the unification talks.

Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 12th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

On the other hand, the People’s Party insists on first hearing the opinions of party members. Although Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, said, “It is incorrect for some media to say we are hesitating,” he has not actively presented opinions on the merger. After the supreme council meeting that day, Ahn said, “Starting today, we will begin the procedure of asking party members’ opinions from the city and provincial parties.”

However, since a failure of the merger or division of the opposition could jeopardize victory in the presidential election, both parties are maintaining a cautious stance. According to the National Election Commission, in the 2017 presidential election, Hong Joon-pyo, the Liberty Korea Party candidate, received 24.03% of the vote, but when combined with Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party (21.41%) and Yoo Seung-min of the Bareun Party (6.76%), the total exceeds a majority at 52.2%. Considering that President Moon Jae-in received 41.08%, opposition unification is highly likely to determine the outcome of the presidential election. However, there is also analysis that if the tug-of-war between the two parties drags on, public fatigue toward opposition unification will increase. In particular, if the exhausting debate over whether the April 7 by-election victory was a ‘victory for the opposition’ or a ‘victory for the People Power Party’ continues, the synergy effect of opposition unification could be diminished.