For PPP and PP, making up is hard to do

Politics

Published: 16 Mar. 2022, 18:59

For PPP and PP, making up is hard to do

Yoon Suk-yeol, left, presidential candidate for the main opposition People Power Party, and Ahn Cheol-soo of the People's Party, announce an electoral alliance at the National Assembly in western Seoul on March 3. [NEWS1]

The opposition People Power Party (PPP) and People's Party (PP) are facing hurdles in a planned merger despite a last-minute alliance ahead of last week's presidential election, which their candidate won.

Some People's Party officials weren't keen on a merger in the first place.

People's Party floor leader Kwon Eun-hee said Wednesday that she is unable to accept a merger with the PPP and asked to be expelled from the party.

Kwon, a third-term lawmaker, wrote on Facebook Wednesday, "In a situation where Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo already included a party merger in the joint statement [with Yoon], the party leadership cannot make any other decision on the issue."

She said she delayed discussing the issue for the sake of the election, but added, "I have now fully communicated with my fellow party colleagues."

Kwon said that the election results were important, as is a successful role for Ahn, but added, "Nevertheless, as a politician, I have no choice but to reflect on the process."

She continued, "I also apologize to the people for making promises that the People's Party could not keep. I will take time to reflect."

If Kwon, a proportionate representative, voluntarily leaves the party, she will lose her parliamentary seat, but if the party expels her, she can retain her seat as an independent.

The PPP's Yoon Suk-yeol and Ahn agreed to an alliance six days before the March 9 presidential election. In a joint statement, Ahn endorsed Yoon, dropping out of the presidential race, and the two sides agreed to merge their parties soon after the election.
In keeping with the deal, President-elect Yoon named Ahn the chairman of his transition committee on Sunday.

However, talks on merging the two parties have faced delays.

The secretaries general of the two parties, PPP's Han Ki-ho and People's Party's Choi Youn-suk, finally held a brief meeting Tuesday to discuss the merger issue but the two sides showed some friction, especially with local elections coming up in June.

Choi reportedly urged speed, conveying the message, "The sea does not shy away from the river."

Han appeared to delay the discussion process, citing internal party circumstances, and noted a task force on the merger has not yet been formed.

PPP Chairman Lee previously promised a merger "within one week after the election."

The two sides parted without scheduling a future meeting.

Rep. Lee Chul-gyu, a PPP strategist, was recently named Yoon's aide overseeing general affairs, while PPP chief Lee is recovering from Covid-19.

There could also be a tug-of-war between the two parties over nominations for the June 1 local elections.

The People's Party has stressed that their members should be considered for nominations. However, PPP chief Lee has stressed everyone go through the primary process.

Previous merger negotiations between the PPP and People's Party in August 2021 ended in failure.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]