Published : Jan. 25, 2016 - 15:35
Two liberal groups led by defectors from the main opposition party agreed to merge Monday, foreshadowing a political realignment in the opposition bloc ahead of the April general election.
People’s Party founder Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo and People’s Reform Party’s leader Rep. Chun Jung-bae announced they would build a new opposition party that could rival the ruling Saenuri Party.
Ahn and Chun have pushed to build their own liberal groups since defecting from The Minjoo Party of Korea last year. Both left in protest against the Minjoo Party leader Rep. Moon Jae-in, who has vowed to resign as early as next month.
Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo (from left), co-chairman of the People‘s Party Han Sang-jin, Rep. Chun Jung-bae, co-chairman of the People’s Party Yoon Yeo-jun and Rep. Kim Han-gil hold hands for a photo session upon announcing their merge at the National Assembly on Monday. Yonhap
“We agreed to merge to prevent the Saenuri Party’s overwhelming victory in the elections,” they said in a statement.
While planning to officially declare the establishment of a new party at a national caucus slated for early February, they are yet to decide who will lead the coalition and how to elect the leadership. But they have agreed to use "People’s Party" as the name.
The new party noted that they would expand efforts to merge with other minor liberal groups. Among them are those led by Rep. Park Joo-sun, who Chun had agreed to form an alliance with, and former South Jeolla Province Gov. Park Joon-yung.
With the new party having secured a total of 16 incumbent lawmakers so far, it is now four seats short of the number required to form a parliamentary negotiating body. A negotiating body is entitled to government subsidies and can exercise tie-breaking votes between the major parties.
The Minjoo Party and the Saenuri Party downplayed the political significance of the coalition that aims to build the third-largest political party. Of the 300 parliamentary seats, the Saenuri Party holds 156 seats with the Minjoo Party and the Justice Party having 110 and five seats, respectively. The remaining 22 occupied seats are held by independents, including those aligned with the planned People's Party.
Kim Jong-in, who has been designated to lead the Minjoo Party until the election post-Moon, was quoted as saying that the party members “should not worry too much" because the coalition is "unlikely to promptly create a big synergy.
The Saenuri Party, which aims to win at least 180 seats in the April race, dismissed the merger as an opportunistic alliance among liberal parties in the run-up to the election.
The conservative party derided Ahn for “following the same tactics former liberal parties had used” to boost popularity by merging with one another before the elections.
“What Ahn has been touting as new politics is nothing but old-fashioned politics. The coalition has delivered yet another disappointment to the people who expect a new alternative role from the opposition parties,” said Saenuri Party’s spokesman Rep. Kim Young-woo.
By Yeo Jun-suk (
jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)