People Power Party Pressures Ahn... Unification Talks at Standstill

People Power Party Busy Gathering Internal Opinions
Democratic Party "Does Not See High Possibility of Success"

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, and Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People Party, are moving after greeting each other at the "2022 Presidential Candidate Invitation Debate" hosted by the Korea Journalists Association and jointly organized by six broadcasting companies, held on the afternoon of the 11th at the Maeil Business Newspaper Media Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporters Bomryeong Geum and Juni Park] The People Power Party (PPP) is keeping the possibility of unification with Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, open, but is pressuring Ahn to voluntarily withdraw rather than accepting his proposed 'national primary' method. Political circles expect that discussions on their unification will remain at a standstill for a day or two.

On the 14th, Kwon Young-se, head of the PPP’s election campaign headquarters, stated in his opening remarks at the campaign headquarters meeting, "Now is the time for a bold unification," adding, "I want to believe in Candidate Ahn’s sincerity. I hope he considers what is the most certain and right path to achieve regime change." He reiterated his refusal to agree to Ahn’s proposed 'public opinion poll national primary' method, placing more emphasis on unification through Ahn’s voluntary withdrawal. After the meeting, Kwon also told reporters, "We are not comfortable with doing it through public opinion polls," and "We think it’s not a good method," drawing a clear line.

The PPP and the People’s Party are currently taking time to deliberate rather than engaging in behind-the-scenes contact immediately. When asked if there were any behind-the-scenes contacts or exchanges of goodwill opinions among working-level staff for unification, Kwon replied, "There is nothing special." He explained that they have not even formed a negotiation team yet. Choi Jin-seok, the People’s Party’s standing election committee chairman, also told reporters that day, "As far as I know, there is no behind-the-scenes contact."

The PPP appears to be busily moving to gather opinions within the party first. Lee Jun-seok, the PPP party leader, even canceled a lunch schedule that day to meet with candidate Yoon and discuss unification. It is interpreted that candidate Yoon plans to meet with party leadership before the 2 p.m. scheduled parliamentary meeting to discuss countermeasures. The People’s Party is also taking a calm approach, focusing on candidate Ahn’s health condition after his spouse, Professor Kim Mi-kyung of Seoul National University, tested positive for COVID-19.

One reason they cannot move hastily is the concern that conflicting statements might arise. During last year’s merger negotiations between the PPP and the People’s Party, trust was broken and the merger collapsed because working-level staff gave different accounts after meetings. A political insider explained, "If two or three people from each party sit at the table, discord will arise, so unification discussions will have to mature for a day or two before behind-the-scenes work can begin."

The ruling party is focusing on lowering expectations for opposition unification. Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, said to reporters after visiting the National Seoul Memorial Cemetery that day, "Politics exists centered on the people for national development and a better life for the people. We must always think about the people and the nation’s future in everything. I have nothing more to say on this matter." The day before, Lee dismissed related questions by saying, "We are currently in a crisis situation, and overcoming the crisis and taking care of people’s livelihoods is the most important political task." This is seen as an indirect criticism of unification and an attempt to avoid escalating the unification issue. Woo Sang-ho, the Democratic Party’s general election campaign headquarters chief, also expressed a negative outlook on TBS radio, saying, "I do not see a high possibility of success," and "Didn’t the People Power Party immediately reject the public opinion poll method proposed by Candidate Ahn?" Regarding the possibility that candidate Yoon might accept Ahn’s conditions, he said, "He will not accept them," diagnosing, "He will probably fear adverse selection."

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