The Democratic Party pushes to unite the third zone... Sends 'love calls' to Ahn Cheol-soo and Kim Dong-yeon

Song Young-gil, Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea / Photo by Yoon Dong-joo, doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Geum Bo-ryeong] The Democratic Party of Korea has sent a 'love call' to Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, and Kim Dong-yeon, the presidential candidate of the New Wave, to pursue the unification of the 'third zone' following the ruling party’s grand coalition.

Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party, said in an interview with Yonhap News on the 26th that Ahn is "a person necessary for national development," and added, "I believe he can unite with Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, rather than Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party’s presidential candidate." He also explicitly named Kim as a target for integration.

This is interpreted as a strategic move to capture the centrist and undecided voters, considered the key battleground in this presidential election, as the one-on-one race between Lee and Yoon continues to be closely contested.

Song explained, "Ahn is someone who developed the V3 vaccine and has a clear vision for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, making him essential for national development. It is difficult for Yoon, whose imagination is boxed in by a lifetime as a prosecutor, to embrace Ahn’s lively scientific and technological ideas."

He continued, "Among opposition candidates, Ahn is the most meaningful. With only about 5% support, it would be a waste for him to just present that level of agenda and fade away. If they unite and nurture the ideas he has, it would be more significant," he emphasized.

When asked about the role Ahn might take on in the future, Song said, "If it were a parliamentary system, a coalition government structure would be ideal, but since our country has a presidential system, we need to make good use of the constitutional parliamentary elements that allow members of the National Assembly to concurrently serve as prime ministers or ministers."

However, Lee, when asked by reporters at the Democratic Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, whether Song had discussed the possibility of cooperation with Ahn, replied, "No," and distanced himself by saying, "I have not thought deeply about it yet."

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party announced a party-to-party integration agreement with the Open Democratic Party at the National Assembly on the same morning. In the agreement, both parties decided to use the name Democratic Party of Korea. The merger is part of Lee’s grand coalition efforts ahead of next year’s presidential election.

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