Eodaemyeong's Biggest Variable 'Kang Hoon-sik·Park Yong-jin Unification'... What Is the Final Deadline?

Park Yong-jin "Confident in Creating a 1:1 Structure Within Ten Days"
Kang Hoon-sik "Cannot Lead the Democratic Party with 'Anti-Myung Alliance'"
First National Poll and Honam Primary Likely to Be a Turning Point for Unification

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] As the online voting for the Democratic Party of Korea's party leader election has officially begun, attention is focused on whether candidates Kang Hoon-sik and Park Yong-jin will successfully unify. In the political sphere, with high expectations of candidate Lee Jae-myung's solo run, 'unification' is cited as a variable that could shake up the Democratic Party's primary landscape. However, due to the nature of regional sequential primaries, there are concerns that unification will inevitably face a 'deadline.'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 3rd, candidate Park appeared on TBS Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' and said, "I am confident that within about ten days, we can create a one-on-one structure." Regarding unification with candidate Kang, he stated, "I have conveyed everything I wanted to say to candidate Kang and am waiting," adding, "Regardless of what choice candidate Kang makes, and regardless of unification, I am fully confident in creating a one-on-one structure with candidate Lee."

Candidate Park, who has been advocating for unification, made remarks suggesting he is considering the possibility that unification between candidates might fail, drawing attention. However, his mention of ten days implies that the success or failure of unification hinges on this timeframe.

In the political world, it is seen that if unification is achieved, it could become a variable in the primary election. Former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won said on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' that "(Candidates Park and Kang) are currently bickering without unifying, but if they unify and compete strongly, it could create an upset."

The key issue is the deadline. Due to the nature of sequential regional vote counting, the later unification occurs, the more wasted votes become inevitable. Therefore, the ten-day period mentioned by candidate Park is likely the practical deadline for unification. In fact, a representative from Park's camp explained, "Candidate Park said at a meeting in Gangwon Province the day before that he would create a 1:1 structure within ten days, and the tenth day, the 12th, is the day the first national public opinion poll is conducted and just before the third round of primaries scheduled in the Honam region," adding, "Something needs to happen before then." The representative also said, "For candidate Kang, who is from the Chungcheong region, if voting in the Chungcheong area proceeds, he can increase his recognition and then move toward unification." This implies that the first national primary is effectively the unification deadline.

However, candidate Kang showed a skeptical attitude toward unification with candidate Park. In an interview with YTN Radio's 'Park Ji-hoon's News King,' he said, "(Candidate Park) keeps demanding a 'Banmyeong alliance' (half-Lee alliance), so either he should stop talking about one-on-one or something, but I have repeatedly said that the Democratic Party cannot be led by a 'Banmyeong alliance.'" He added, "We need a new competition and a new alliance for a new ruling party, and I hope the focus is on these aspects."

While unification could create a significant impact if achieved, the political atmosphere is rife with the view that it will not be easy.

Woo Sang-ho, the Democratic Party's Emergency Response Committee Chairman, appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the same day and said, "Unification will be difficult," adding, "Those who prepared to run for party leader have only registered a few days ago, so they won't quit, and it is difficult to agree on a unification method between (candidates Kang and Park)." Woo said, "I think the breakdown will occur early rather than at the end," but also said, "Rather than forcing unification, they came out to show their own colors and achieve good results, so the unification issue itself is not very meaningful."

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