Lee Jun-seok "Unification with Ahn completes a united front for regime change... Merger will be in the form of an absorption merger"

"Democratic Party shows more consideration than Open Democratic Party in merger talks"
"No intention to coordinate on party leadership"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] On the 3rd, Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, commented on Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People Party, withdrawing from the presidential race and endorsing Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, saying, "I evaluate that the unified front for regime change has been completed." While Lee said he would hasten the process of merger and other matters, he drew a line regarding party leadership, stating, "I have no intention to coordinate."

At a press conference held at the People Power Party Daegu City Branch on the same day, Lee referred to Ahn's withdrawal and endorsement of Yoon as "a major turning point in the presidential election process" and said, "I evaluate that the unified front for regime change has been completed."

He said, "Participation in joint government operation or the transition committee process following the withdrawal and endorsement is entirely up to the candidate," but added, "Whether to share political activities, merger, or roles in local elections will be the party's role after the election." Lee also stated, "We have taken a very respectful attitude toward the People Party in that regard," and "If the People Party does not set other political milestones, I expect a swift response."

When asked about the possibility of future competition for party leadership with Ahn, Lee drew a line. He said, "If Ahn plans to run in the next party convention scheduled for next year, he can challenge for party leadership through competition, and before that stage, I think the merger procedure will proceed in the form of absorption merger."

This differs from what Lee Yang-su, chief spokesperson of the People Power Party's election campaign headquarters, explained earlier regarding the form of merger as a "party-to-party merger."

However, Lee said bluntly, "We plan to offer better treatment and consideration than the merger principle between the Open Democratic Party and the Democratic Party," and "I have no intention to coordinate on matters that could be described as party leadership."

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