People Power Party Secretariat Union "People Party, Withdraw Merger Conditions"... Kwon Eun-hee "Ignoring Merger Principles"

On the morning of the 22nd, at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, during the working-level negotiation team meeting related to the merger of the People Power Party and the People Party, Seong Il-jong, head of the People Power Party (right), and Kwon Eun-hee, head of the People Party, are greeting each other.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The People Power Party (PPP) Secretariat labor union has stated to the People Party that "while we have agreed to the resolution for the merger, we have never consented to any other merger conditions," demanding the withdrawal of the requested conditions. In response, Kwon Eun-hee, the lead negotiator from the People Party, expressed regret, saying, "This disregards the principles of the merger itself."

On the 23rd, the labor union released a statement saying, "We agreed to the merger to fulfill the national aspiration for victory in the presidential election, but the misuse of the merger as a tool for trickery and special favors is expected to cause serious damage to party democracy and public trust."

They strongly condemned the recent actions of the People Party as a "yangdu-guyuk (a case of 'a dog in the manger')." The union stated, "There are suspicions of bloating the party's size, such as recent appointments of district committee chairpersons and increasing Secretariat staff. At this critical time when we must cultivate the large field of the presidential election, we absolutely reject 'buying a cow that has been starved'."

They further demanded the withdrawal of requests such as changing the party name, full employment succession of Secretariat staff, and debt repayment.

The union also set conditions regarding the employment succession of People Party Secretariat employees in the event of a merger. They stated that employment succession should not be permitted for those who have engaged in immoral or antisocial behavior or supported specific presidential candidates. Additionally, all matters related to Secretariat employment succession must be approved by the union.

In response, Kwon expressed regret on Facebook, saying, "A merger is meant to recognize, respect, and expand each other, but likening the People Party to a 'starved cow' and disparaging them shakes the spirit of the merger."

She added, "This disregards the principles of a just merger based on the values of fairness and equity declared by the PPP Secretariat labor union."

Regarding the union's demand to withdraw some conditions, she replied, "The People Party has never requested full employment succession of Secretariat staff or debt repayment," and clarified, "The PPP only reviewed and informed that there were no issues."

On the issue of changing the party name, she said, "We proposed it as the only element that can symbolically embody the spirit of integration," adding, "If the People Power Party deems a name change impossible, it is appropriate to suggest alternatives that can symbolically represent the spirit of integration."