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| People's Party Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo leaves a press conference at the National Assembly, Wednesday, after proposing a vote by all party members on whether to merge the party with the minor conservative Bareun Party. / Yonhap |
By Choi Ha-young
People's Party Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo proposed a vote Wednesday by all party members on whether to merge the minor center-left party with the minor conservative Bareun Party, an issue that has been at the center of a simmering factional feud.
A rival faction that has opposed Ahn's idea of unifying with the Bareun Party blasted his proposal, calling it a "declaration of war."
The faction members claimed Ahn has now crossed a "red line," and his behavior will lead to a division of the party.
In a press conference Ahn said he will resign from the party leadership if the poll rejects the merger. "I will take a confidence vote of my leadership, regarding the pros and cons of the merger," Ahn said.
"If a majority of party members approve my post, I will promptly move toward the consolidation of the two parties. Otherwise, I will abandon my post immediately."
The merger has fueled an internal feud within the People's Party. Lawmakers from the Jeolla area ― the liberals' traditional support base ― are unfavorable to the merger with a party formed with defectors of the conservative Saenuri Party which became the Liberty Korea Party.
While Ahn seeks to revamp his political fortune in pioneering a centrist party, the Jeolla lawmakers are defending the liberal values of former President Kim Dae-jung.
Ahn, however, virtually urged the opponents to leave the party, saying "decide where you will stand." He said the party will begin the poll right away and wrap up the merger process by the end of the year.
"Unfortunately, some lawmakers have opposed the merger, citing groundless public sentiment in the Jeolla area. What I found over a month of nationwide meetings with party members was that people overwhelmingly want a new start as a centrist-reformist party."
Ahn's declaration drew protests immediately. Rep. Park Jie-won, the de facto leader of the anti-merger faction, openly blasted Ahn on Facebook. "Stop the poll right now. The poll, without a decision by the party convention, is impossible. Only the party convention is authorized to decide the party's merger or dismissal."
Rep. Chun Jung-bae, another anti-merger lawmaker, denounced the party chairman's motion as "dictatorial" and "self-righteous."
However, it is not easy for the anti-merger faction to leave the party. The anti-merger group based in Jeolla region could find themselves in trouble if the ruling Democratic Party of Korea refuses to accept them.
The People's Party was originally scheduled to hold a closed-door general meeting to discuss the party's fate, but Ahn declined to appear at the meeting.
If the People's Party and the Bareun Party combine, they are likely to form a negotiation body with over 20 members. Both parties are at stake due to their scanty political presence. The two parties have launched an alliance for joint action over bills, the budget and the upcoming regional election, as a springboard for their merger.
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