Will the Democratic Party Merge with the Innovation Party? Key Insights from Recent Discussions

During a caucus meeting on February 10, Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers agreed on the need to merge with the Justice Innovation Party. However, they concurred that pursuing a merger in the current political climate could be challenging. The Supreme Council is set to make a final decision on the merger, taking into account the caucus results.

After the meeting, Chief Spokesperson Park Soo-hyun told reporters, “We acknowledge that while the merger proposal with the Innovation Party was intended to support the Lee Jae-myung administration’s success through a landslide victory in local elections, the process has led to conflicts.”

He added, “Lawmakers generally agree on the necessity of unification. However, they believe that despite having justification, pushing for a merger now would be difficult. They’ve urged the Supreme Council to swiftly conclude based on today’s caucus results.”

Park elaborated, “Regarding timing, suggestions were made to discuss the merger after the local elections. Some proposed considering electoral alliances or coalition formats.”

Park emphasized that no lawmaker explicitly opposed the merger. He noted, “One or two members expressed concerns about post-election merger, but the majority of comments were supportive of unification.”

When asked if the Supreme Council would reach a decision on the merger that day, Park responded, “We may need to provide a brief background briefing depending on the situation. There might also be an opportunity to address the public and party members during tomorrow’s scheduled Supreme Council meeting.”

The Supreme Council plans to hold a closed-door meeting at 7 PM to discuss the merger.