Kim Jong-in "Merger with the People's Party? This Will End Up in Chaos"

Oh Se-hoon 'Conditional Candidacy' Kim Jong-in "What Condition Is There for Running?"

Kim Jong-in, the Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is speaking at the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 11th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Kim Jong-in, the Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, reportedly criticized some party members advocating for a 'party-to-party merger' with the People’s Party on the 11th, calling them a "broken family." This remark appears to be a criticism of those who recently publicly mentioned a merger or joining the party and advocated for unification with Ahn Cheol-soo, the leader of the People’s Party.

At a closed Emergency Committee meeting that day, Chairman Kim criticized the senior members and party officials, saying, "When senior members step forward to advocate for a party-to-party merger, it will become a broken family like in the last general election." This is interpreted as a warning against the ongoing opposition unification talks, following Jung Jin-seok, the People Power Party’s nomination committee chairman, who stated, "Party-to-party integration comes before candidate unification," and People Power Party lawmaker Jang Je-won’s proposal of 'unification first, then primary.'

Kim was reported to have criticized, "If you show opportunistic behavior, the public will inevitably see it as opportunism," and questioned, "What kind of merger is there with a party that has only three seats?"

He also responded to former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s announcement that he would run if Ahn Cheol-soo did not join the party, saying, "If he runs, he runs; if not, then not. What conditions are there?"

After the meeting, when asked by reporters about the possibility of merging with the People’s Party, Kim drew a clear line, saying, "A party merger with the People’s Party is impossible," and added, "I cannot even imagine such a situation, so there is no need to discuss it further."

Regarding the possibility of a three-way race among the People Power Party candidate, Ahn Cheol-soo, and the Democratic Party candidate, he said, "(The People Power Party’s victory) is possible."

Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party (left), and Hong Joon-pyo, independent lawmaker (right), visited Jogye Order’s Supreme Patriarch Jinje Monk (center) at Donghwasa Temple on Palgongsan Mountain in Dong-gu, Daegu, on the afternoon of the 11th to pay their respects. They are together as their visit times overlapped.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, on the same day, Ahn Cheol-soo met with independent lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo at Donghwasa Temple on Palgongsan Mountain in Daegu. They stated that they came to pay New Year’s respects to Jinje, the Supreme Patriarch of the Jogye Order, and had not arranged the meeting in advance. The two, seated with the Supreme Patriarch, talked for about an hour.

Ahn said, "Hong said regarding the Seoul mayoral race, 'Since you have great ambitions, I hope for good results.'" He added, "We exchanged New Year’s greetings and pleasantries," drawing a line against political interpretations.

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