People Party "Will Discuss Merger with People Power Party Within This Week"

Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 26th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Bo-ryeong] As the People’s Party and the People Power Party are engaged in a tug-of-war over their merger, attention is focused on whether merger discussions can unfold within this week.

On the 26th, Ahn Hye-jin, spokesperson for the People’s Party, met with reporters after the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly and stated, "At least until this week, we plan to carry out discussions between the two parties in some form."

Since the 16th until the day before, Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, traveled to Daegu, Daejeon, Gwangju, and other regions to attend nationwide regional party member meetings. According to the spokesperson, the ratio of People’s Party members in favor of and against the merger was two-thirds in favor and one-third opposed.

Ahn explained, "Even among those in favor, many conditions were that the merger should be based on innovation, fairness, and reform, reflecting centrism and pragmatism." She also left open the possibility of conducting a public opinion poll through an automatic response system (ARS) if opinions from members who could not attend were needed.

Whether the merger decision will be made through a vote of all party members or by the Supreme Council has not yet been decided. The People’s Party plans to hold a closed Supreme Council meeting this afternoon to discuss this matter. The spokesperson said, "The closed Supreme Council meeting will likely continue from this evening until tomorrow morning," adding, "We expect to be able to outline some details tomorrow (the 27th)."

The People’s Party is still showing a cautious stance regarding the merger. The spokesperson emphasized, "This time, we do not want to repeat past mistakes," and added, "In the past, under the name of a merger, things were rushed and ended up not as a merger but a split. We are approaching this carefully with the thought that such a situation must not be repeated."

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