Rep. Lee Jun-seok, leader of the minor opposition Reform Party, said Wednesday that he would coordinate more closely with the main opposition People Power Party, raising the prospect of broader conservative cooperation ahead of the June local elections.
Lee made the remarks during a visit to the National Assembly in Seoul, where he met People Power Party Chair Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok, who entered the seventh day of a hunger strike. Lee said he would pursue “concrete measures for joint action” with the People Power Party.
“I will consult with my party members as well as Rep. Song Eon-seog, the People Power Party’s floor leader, and come up with a joint action plan without undue delay,” Lee said. “We will stand together.”
“For cooperation between the two parties, you need to play a commanding role,” he added, addressing Jang.
Jang welcomed Lee’s visit and stressed the need for coordination within the broader conservative bloc.
Jang launched the hunger strike in protest of a ruling bloc-backed bill seeking additional special counsel probes into former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee, which was passed earlier this month. Jang instead called for separate investigations into allegations involving the Democratic Party of Korea, including claims of illicit political funds linked to the Unification Church and alleged nomination irregularities involving party lawmakers.
Lee and Jang's meeting came amid growing speculation that the People Power Party and the Reform Party may seek broader cooperation — not only in advancing special counsel bills targeting the Democratic Party, but also in the lead-up to the June local elections.
Jang said the party remained open to unity within the conservative camp ahead of the elections when he issued its first public apology earlier this month over Yoon’s Dec. 3, 2024, martial law declaration.
During the address, he wore an orange tie — a color widely associated with the Reform Party — which some viewed as an olive branch to the minor conservative party.
The Reform Party, including Lee, has also aligned its position with that of the People Power Party by calling for a separate special counsel investigation into the Democratic Party.
However, Lee has not specified whether such coordination could eventually lead to a party merger. He had served as the People Power Party’s first leader after its rebranding in June 2021, but left the party in December 2023 following internal disputes with senior figures aligned with Yoon. He later founded the Reform Party.
No figure from the ruling bloc has visited Jang since the start of his hunger strike. President Lee Jae Myung also made no reference to Jang’s protest during a New Year’s press conference at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul earlier Wednesday.
Later in the day, Hong Ihk-pyo, the newly appointed senior presidential secretary for political affairs, met Rep. Jung Chung-rae at the National Assembly for the first time since taking office, but left without visiting Jang.
The move drew criticism from the opposition.
“I was told that the senior secretary visited the National Assembly but used a side entrance. I don’t think that shows even basic human courtesy,” said Rep. Park Sung-hoon, spokesperson for the People Power Party, speaking to reporters at the National Assembly. “It shows a side of democracy in which dialogue and compromise have disappeared, and it is deeply regrettable.”
Amid growing concerns among People Power Party members over Jang’s health, an ambulance was called on Wednesday afternoon. However, Jang — who has been consuming only water and small amounts of salt since beginning the strike — declined hospitalization.
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