Demand for 97 Group Unification... Park Jumin "No Vote Calculation", Lee Donghak "Opposes Strategic Unification"

Park Yong-jin, Kang Byung-won "Let's Plan a Unified Scrub"
80s-born Candidates "Not Interested in Pro-Myeong vs. Anti-Myeong Frame"

Lee Dong-hak, a preliminary candidate for the Democratic Party of Korea's representative, along with preliminary candidates for supreme council members Kwon Ji-woong and Kim Ji-soo, are announcing a joint proposal for innovation in the Democratic Party at the National Assembly on the 21st. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Ahead of the party convention in August, a unification movement is emerging among the '97 Group' candidates for the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea. However, on the 21st, Representative Park Joo-min dismissed the possibility of unification before the cut-off, stating that "more discussions are needed." Former Supreme Council member Lee Dong-hak, who is not part of the 97 Group, also expressed opposition to "engineering unification."

On the same day, Representative Park stated on Facebook, "Unification based on shared values and vision is always open," adding, "Candidates must show what values they hold and what party innovation plans they pursue."

He continued, "Whether it is 'Eodaemyeong (Anyway, the presidential election is Lee Jae-myung)' or 'Eodaenak (Anyway, the presidential election is Lee Nak-yon),' I have never decided to run by calculating votes politically," emphasizing, "It is important to confirm each other's values and vision."

He added, "One thing is clear: the goal of this party convention is unity and innovation. I will not support anything that undermines this."

He said, "I will tell party members and the public whether I am the right person and accept their fair judgment."

Former Supreme Council member Lee also expressed opposition to the 97 Group's push for unification via Facebook on the same day. He argued, "Unification solely aimed at opposing someone may not inspire or give hope to party members and the public," and "It will rather result in the disappearance of diverse voices of candidates and accelerate the homogenization of the Democratic Party."

He stated, "I am not interested in the pro-Lee or anti-Lee frame. I diagnose that the current politics, which seizes power by tripping up opponents, is broken," emphasizing, "I came out to completely change this kind of politics, and I will ensure that the voices of people who think like me are not absorbed and disappear into the established order."

That morning, former Supreme Council member Lee, along with former Emergency Committee member Kwon Ji-woong and eight Democratic Party members, announced the 'Joint Proposal from Party Members for Democratic Party Innovation' at the National Assembly. Born in 1982, Lee is running for party leader, and born in 1988, Kwon is running for Supreme Council member.

They said, "At the center of this party convention is 'pro-Lee' and 'anti-Lee.' The core issue is 'Is it Lee Jae-myung or not?'" and asked, "If we choose one of the two, does that mean the Democratic Party will be innovated?"

They pledged to ▲ move beyond a party of only the democratization generation to a party for all ordinary citizens ▲ break away from politics of hatred and discrimination ▲ and go beyond generational change to a new power shift.

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