The Democratic Party and Open Democratic Party Promote Party-to-Party Integration

Breaking Out of the Box Range with Pro-Moon Embrace

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] With about 100 days left until the presidential election, the Democratic Party of Korea has begun discussions on merging with the Open Democratic Party. The strategy aims to break out of the stagnant support range by attracting the core support base, the pro-Moon Jae-in faction (Chinmun), amid the stagnation of candidate Lee's approval ratings.

On the 18th, Democratic Party senior spokesperson Ko Yong-jin announced that party leader Song Young-gil and Open Democratic Party leader Choi Kang-wook exchanged opinions on party-to-party integration and agreed to promote the merger. Senior spokesperson Ko added, "Although there are various opinions on the timing, there was a consensus that it is better to proceed quickly given the current situation." Representative Woo Sang-ho took the lead as the Democratic Party's negotiation representative.

This merger discussion appears to have been influenced by the will of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate. During the primary process, candidate Lee expressed, regarding the Open Democratic Party merger issue, "We must become a greater unity to complete the Candlelight Revolution and reform people's livelihoods," and stated, "I actively welcome it."

So far, the Democratic Party has repeatedly calculated the pros and cons of integrating the broader progressive camp. Since candidate Lee had conflicts with the pro-Moon faction during the primary, merging with the Open Democratic Party could serve as a 'big tent' strategy to re-embrace the pro-Moon faction. Because the Open Democratic Party has not yet selected a presidential candidate, it can naturally incorporate its support base without going through a separate candidate unification process.

However, since the Open Democratic Party's support base includes a high proportion of so-called hardline pro-Moon members, it may cause backlash among moderate voters. The Open Democratic Party, having been formed as a satellite party, also faces unresolved issues such as the proportional representation party controversy and the handling of lawmaker Kim Eui-gyeom, who is under speculation for speculation. Nevertheless, this agreement started in a positive atmosphere. When asked whether the hardline supporters of the Open Democratic Party could harmonize with the Democratic Party, senior spokesperson Ko said, "I believe they can harmonize sufficiently. If there are differences, both sides must work together to unite as one party." Lawmaker Kim stated on Facebook immediately after the merger announcement, "The Open Democratic Party will take on the role of the antagonist. I will willingly become the 'catfish' to invigorate and revitalize the campaign committee," adding, "Combining the organizational strength of the Democratic Party with the agility of the Open Democratic Party will maximize efficiency."

Meanwhile, according to a public opinion poll conducted by Win-G Korea Consulting commissioned by Asia Economy on the 6th and 7th, the Open Democratic Party's support rate was 4.2%, and 77.3% of those supporting this party also supported candidate Lee. 6.6% said they supported Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party candidate. This is a figure similar to the trend of presidential candidate support among Democratic Party supporters. Currently, the number of seats is 169 for the Democratic Party and 3 for the Open Democratic Party.

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