People's Party internal feud deepening over merger

Lawyers representing People’s Party members, who are against the party leadership’s move to merge with the Bareun Party, enter the Seoul Southern District Court, Monday, seeking a court injunction to halt the party’s vote on the merger scheduled from Wednesday to Saturday. / Yonhap

By Kim Rahn

A faction in the minor opposition People’s Party sought a court injunction Monday to prevent the party leadership’s move to merge with the minor Bareun Party.

The bid came two days before the party’s scheduled four-day vote on the merger, deepening its internal feud. The party planned to hold the vote for all members nationwide from Wednesday to Saturday and announce the result on Sunday.

The faction, comprised of lawmakers and party members against the merger, said it asked the Seoul Southern District Court to halt the vote.

“The vote, which party Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo is pushing ahead with unilaterally, lacks legitimacy, so it should be stopped,” a party official who belongs to the faction said.

Merger opponents claimed at least a third of party members must vote for the poll result to be valid, according to party rules. But Ahn and supporters say the rules do not apply to the merger issue and thus a quorum is not required.

“We also asked the court to ban the party from announcing the poll result if the voter turnout does not reach 33.3 percent,” the official said.

As the poll on the merger is linked to a vote of confidence in Ahn, the faction claims if the turnout is lower than 33.3 percent, he should resign. It is encouraging party members to boycott the vote to lower the turnout.

Opponents also plan to hold a protest in front of the National Assembly’s main building today. Some opponents are even considering leaving the party. They say up to 20 among the party’s 39 lawmakers could leave, including former head Rep. Park Jie-won.

Merger supporters, on the other hand, said the merger is a way to woo more voters in the local elections slated for June. They criticized the vote boycott campaign, calling it an unreasonable action.

The 39-seat People’s Party and the 11-seat Bareun Party have sought a merger to raise their presence in the 299-seat Assembly, which is dominated by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP). The leaderships of the two parties say if united, they can be a centrist alternative to the large parties.

But merger opponents at the People’s Party say their party is basically liberal and the Bareun Party conservative, as the latter was spun off from the conservative LKP. Opposition is especially strong from those from Gwangju and the Jeolla provinces, the party’s strongholds. They claim the merger will make liberal voters turn their backs on the party.