Rumors of Lee Sang-min and Yang Hyang-ja Joining... "No Decision Made" "Our Goal is to Take Power"

Kim Young-jin "Those who served as lawmakers in warm places... Will the tent poles be sturdy?"

The People Power Party is promoting the 'Super Big Tent' theory ahead of the general election and is sending love calls to Lee Sang-min, a five-term non-Ming faction member of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Yang Hyang-ja, who leads the third zone new party 'Hope of Korea.' However, the parties themselves are not readily accepting the offer. Lee said that nothing has been decided yet and left open the possibility of an alliance with other forces, while Yang drew a line, saying, "The goal is not a merger but to take power."

On the 24th, Yang said on KBS '1 Radio Today,' "It is true that I have received several offers to join from people leading the Yoon Seok-yeol government, and in fact, I have also received many proposals for a merger," adding, "I am very grateful on a personal level for the proposals, but the artificial coalition to gain votes in the general election through such mergers does not gain the trust of the people."

This effectively drew a line against the People Power Party's merger proposal. After giving a lecture to the Innovation Committee at the People Power Party's central office in Yeouido the day before, he also expressed a negative stance on the merger in a Q&A with reporters, saying, "Since we started with a completely different political paradigm, it is inappropriate to talk about a merger when we founded the party based on values and vision." He left open only the possibility of alliances with the third zone, new parties, etc., saying, "Depending on what values and vision we have, we can discuss with any force and are open to policy alliances and everything."

Earlier than Yang, Lee, who also gave a lecture to the Innovation Committee and was rumored to be joining the People Power Party, said on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' that "my mind is somewhat made up," but when asked by the host if joining the People Power Party was likely, he avoided a definite answer, saying, "If I break away from the Democratic Party, I am keeping all possibilities open."

He said, "It’s not decided, but my mind is leaning that way," adding, "There is a new party, and even now, through the Friday joint meetings, we continue to meet and communicate with lawmakers like Geum Tae-seop and Yang Hyang-ja, who are pushing for the third zone new party. We are also discussing the one that former leader Lee Jun-seok is promoting, and we are exploring all possibilities with the People Power Party. If there is nowhere else to go, we might consider here or there."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Within the Democratic Party, there are voices expressing skepticism about how effective it would be for the People Power Party to bring in Yang, Lee, and others into the 'Super Big Tent.' Kim Young-jin, the Democratic Party's Chief Political Coordination Officer, said on KBS Radio that day, "Looking at Lee or Yang, aren’t they people who have been members of the Democratic Party and served as lawmakers in a very warm environment? So, are they really pitching a tent together?" He added, "From my perspective, the big tent may look good in appearance, but I wonder if the pillars of that tent are really strong."

He then criticized, "Na Kyung-won (former lawmaker), Yoo Seung-min (former lawmaker), and Lee Jun-seok (former leader) are supposed to be the four pillars who should pitch the big tent together, but if you abandon three of those pillars and put up what I consider inappropriate pillars, will the tent withstand the wind and rain?"