Cho Kuk: "No Merger If There Is No Official Answer from the Democratic Party by the 13th"

On February 8, Cho Kuk, leader of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, urged the Democratic Party of Korea to decide on its official position before February 13, when the Lunar New Year holiday begins.

At a press conference held at the National Assembly that day, Cho stressed, "If there is no official and public response by the 13th, the Innovation Party will consider that there will be no merger."

Cho Kuk, leader of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party (right), paid a courtesy call on Jeong Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, at the National Assembly on November 26 last year. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

After Jeong Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, made a sudden proposal for a merger with the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, conflicts within the Democratic Party of Korea over the issue have intensified. Some even raised allegations targeting the Innovation Party, including claims of a secret deal.

Cho said, "After the merger proposal, the Democratic Party of Korea has entered into a power struggle," and asked, "I ask the Democratic Party of Korea: Is what is happening inside the party now a productive debate over vision and policy, or is it an internal power struggle?"

He went on, "Has there ever been a ruling party that, less than one year after the launch of a new administration, engaged in a power struggle over party leadership, which controls nomination rights for the general election, and over the next presidency?" He added, "In order to win that power struggle, they hurled falsehoods and slander at the Innovation Party, which received the merger proposal as a sister party, and at me as its leader."

He criticized, "They spread absurd claims of a secret share-deal, a so-called 'Cho Kuk presidential bid theory,' and even resorted to red-baiting," and insisted, "There was no secret deal of any kind, and there was no discussion whatsoever about sharing stakes."

Cho said, "I ask the Democratic Party of Korea to clearly choose the path it will take," adding, "Please clearly decide whether you will form an electoral alliance as a separate party without a merger, or not form an electoral alliance at all, or compete over values and vision within a single party."

He also proposed a meeting with Jeong. He said, "If the Democratic Party of Korea makes an official decision to proceed with a merger on the conditions I have requested, there must be a meeting between the party leaders," and added, "At that meeting, we will be able to discuss the next steps."