People Power Party, Continuous 'Pressure' on Ahn Cheol-soo... Party-to-Party Integration Theory Also Emerges

This Week's Private Meeting Between Oh Se-hoon and Ahn Cheol-soo
Jung Jin-seok Proposes Model of Integration Followed by Unification
Kim Jong-in: "Integration with the People's Party Is Unthinkable"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The People Power Party is pressuring Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, to join their party day after day. Within the party, the idea of party-to-party integration for winning the Seoul mayoral by-election and regime change is also emerging. Attention is focused on whether there will be progress in discussions on opposition unification and integration during the private meeting scheduled this week between former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Ahn.

On the 11th, former Mayor Oh said on MBC Radio, “If only candidate unification for the election is done without opposition integration, the likelihood of the opposition being divided during the presidential election increases,” adding, “I intend to have sufficient discussions with (Ahn) about the possibility that this unification could be a bad unification that causes opposition division in the presidential election.”

This meeting was arranged at the suggestion of former Mayor Oh, who declared conditional candidacy depending on whether Ahn joins the People Power Party. A source from Ahn’s side told Asia Economy in a phone call that “Not only former Mayor Oh but others will meet if requested,” and “There is no requirement to meet anyone according to the internal primary rules schedule of the (People Power Party).” Ahn’s side, who is running far ahead as the top opposition candidate in opinion polls, is in a relaxed mood.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, Rep. Jung Jin-seok, chair of the People Power Party’s by-election nomination management committee, proposed a ‘unification first, then candidate unification’ model, arguing that Ahn’s joining and the integration of the two parties should be pursued on the same level. On the 10th, Jung wrote on Facebook, “What is practical realism? Even if a crow catches a pheasant, it is a hawk that catches a pheasant,” and in the comments added, “It must be the will of the people.”

On the other hand, Kim Jong-in, emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, told reporters on the 11th that party-to-party integration “cannot happen,” saying, “I don’t know who said such a thing, but it’s an unimaginable situation. There is no need to mention it anymore.” Regarding the possibility of a three-way race in the Seoul mayoral by-election, Kim said, “If one person runs, depending on the case, there may be no way,” but added, “I think we can still win (even in such a situation).”

The People Power Party is coordinating internal primary rules, including exemptions from preliminary primaries for outsiders. Recently, at a nomination committee meeting, a special provision was discussed that would allow external candidates who did not participate in the preliminary primary but achieve a certain level of support in opinion polls to directly enter the main primary. This is seen as a measure for future candidate unification efforts, based on the judgment that it is realistically difficult for outsiders to join the party before the internal primary candidate registration begins on the 18th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.