Unification of Kukhim and Kukdang Sealed... "The Third Party Experiment Ends with Merger"

People Power Party and People Party Officially Announce Merger After Struggles

Agenda Finalized at Supreme Council Meeting
Effectively Absorbing People Party
Party Name to Remain People Power Party

Ahn Cheol-soo, Chairman of the 20th Presidential Transition Committee, is speaking at a press briefing held on the occasion of the one-month anniversary of the committee's launch at the Presidential Transition Committee press conference room in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul on April 18, 2022. Photo by [Joint Coverage] [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Hyunju Lee and Hyunji Kwon] After much difficulty, the People Power Party and the People’s Party merged on the 18th. That afternoon, the two parties made an official merger declaration. The plan of Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, to create a third political bloc outside the two major parties as an alternative effectively failed.

On the same day, the People Power Party held a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly to finalize the merger agenda with the People’s Party. The agenda to convene the National Committee, a required step under the Political Parties Act for a merger, was also approved. This was a procedural follow-up to the unification government plan announced by President-elect Yoon Seok-youl (then the People Power Party’s presidential candidate) and Ahn Cheol-soo, chairman of the Presidential Transition Committee (People’s Party presidential candidate), during the 20th presidential election candidate unification process, which included a post-election merger.

The merger was effectively an absorption-type integration, and the party name remains People Power Party. After the meeting, Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, told reporters, “At the Supreme Council level, we think this level of negotiation is reasonable and there should be no major issues, so we expect to make the merger declaration today.” Regarding remaining variables, he emphasized, “If there is trust, even small disagreements can be resolved.” The People’s Party also held its final Supreme Council meeting at the Transition Committee office in Tongui-dong, Seoul, and approved the merger.

With this merger, People’s Party proportional representation members Lee Tae-gyu and Choi Yeon-sook will change their affiliation to the People Power Party. Representative Kwon Eun-hee is expected to be expelled prior to the merger. As a proportional representative, Kwon will become an independent. On the same day, Kwon posted on her Facebook, stating, “The expulsion procedure will proceed until the merger report is completed with the National Election Commission (NEC), which could be as soon as 3 days or as late as 10 days.” She added, “Since a caucus meeting must be held for expulsion, I am currently in contact with Representative Lee Tae-gyu.”

Political Sphere’s Third Party System Faces Extinction Threat
Excluding Independents, Only Negotiation Groups Left Are
Justice Party, Basic Income Party, and Transition Korea

“The Result of ‘Tteokgomul’ Politics
Ahn Has Effectively Surrendered on Cabinet Appointments
Even the Possibility of a Coalition Government Has Been Rejected”

The People Power Party plans to additionally register candidates from the People’s Party who have been preparing to run in local elections. Regarding the inability to take the Public Official Candidate Basic Qualification Assessment (PPAT), which would have allowed for bonus points, the party intends to consult with the nomination committee to ensure the People’s Party candidates are not significantly disadvantaged. After the PPAT exam the previous day, Leader Lee said, “We will decide in a way that preserves the spirit of the merger and does not shake the big picture.”

With the absorption of the People’s Party into the People Power Party, the third-party system in the political sphere faces extinction. Once the merger process is complete, in the 21st National Assembly, excluding independents, only the Justice Party (1 constituency seat, 5 proportional seats), Basic Income Party (1 proportional seat), and Transition Korea (1 proportional seat) will remain as negotiation groups. Um Kyung-young, director of the Era Spirit Research Institute, said, “The parties and candidates known as the third party or third candidate have been captured or surrendered to the two major parties and have engaged in ‘tteokgomul politics’?politics aimed at gaining crumbs?so this result has emerged.” He added, “It is important for the third parties not to abandon principles or representation, but with the recent cabinet appointments and Ahn’s apparent surrender, even the possibility of a coalition government has been shut down.”

Meanwhile, the People Power Party Supreme Council decided to postpone approval of the nomination committee’s agenda to single-candidate nominate former KBS anchor Hwang Sang-moo as the preliminary candidate for Gangwon Province governor. Leader Lee said, “There are disagreements regarding the reasons for excluding former lawmaker Kim from the nomination,” and “The nomination committee’s proposal was not approved today.” Former lawmaker Kim Jin-tae issued a public apology statement in front of the National Assembly’s hunger strike site in the morning after the nomination committee hinted at the possibility of a rehearing. Prior to this, the nomination committee had requested Kim to apologize for inappropriate remarks he made in the past regarding the May 18 Democratic Uprising and the Buddhist community.

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