Sohn Hak-kyu, former liberal opposition leader and longtime presidential aspirant, on Tuesday announced that his camp would merge with the runner-up opposition People’s Party for the next presidential election. 

“I shall create a new political blueprint and eventually establish the Seventh Republic (of Korea,)” he said in a press conference, announcing his imminent entry into the People’s Party. By the seventh republic, he meant his presidential pledge to rewrite the Constitution and thereby open a new era of democracy. 

To win the presidential ticket of the parliament’s No. 3 party, Sohn will compete against its leading figures, including Reps. Ahn Cheol-soo and Chun Jung-bae in a primary.
People’s Party earlier pledged to select its presidential runner by March 13, around which the Constitutional Court is largely expected to make its ruling on the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. 

Should Park’s ouster be confirmed by the court, the nation must hold a presidential election within 60 days.   

Tuesday’s joining of Sohn, former Gyeonggi Province Governor who in 2008 chaired the precursor of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, comes as the People’s Party pushes to build a “small tent,” a concept of political unity of the centrist-progressive zone. 

Sohn said that minority candidates stand a chance against Moon Jae-in, former chairman of the Democratic Party and currently the frontrunner in the presidential election roadmap, if united.

He also alluded that part of those who were, until recently, expected to work with Ban Ki-moon may be looking for a new political base camp, other than the ruling conservative Saenuri Party or the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea. The former United Nations secretary-general last week renounced his anticipated bid in the presidential race.

Sohn, 69, had retired from politics but announced his comeback in October last year and announced his presidential bid in January.

His approval rating, however, has remained in the lower tier so far.

A survey by Realmeter in the first week of February showed Sohn to be ranked seventh among the potential candidates, with 2.7 percent of the respondents’ approval.

Moon stood at 26.1 percent, taking a visible lead over runner-up Hwang Kyo-ahn, the prime minister and acting president whose approval rating was 12.1 percent.

While Sohn is seen as making the last challenge in his political career, the People’s Party’s plan is to revitalize its imminent primary by bringing in a plausible adversary for former party chairman Ahn.

For such reasons, the party’s leadership, especially chairman Rep. Park Jie-won has frequently been reaching out to ranking centrist politicians to expand the party’s political leverage.

Sohn, too, alluded that other public figures may be following suit in joining the People’s Party.

“There will be a (political) big ban in February-March, though I cannot yet tell you all the details today,” Sohn told reporters, apparently indicating at Kim Chong-in, the former interim chief of the Democratic Party.

“Kim (Chong-in) told me to go ahead and lay the grounds,” Sohn said, but reserved explicit answers when asked whether Kim would be joining in as well.

Moon and the Democratic camp responded neither to Sohn’s alluding remarks, nor to his unity with the People’s Party.

“The People’s Party will eventually merge with our party (ahead of the presidential election),” Moon said Tuesday.

“I hope to join hands (with the People’s Party) in achieving the much-aspired change of government.”

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)