Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok reaffirmed that the issue of dual party memberships must be settled before any merger talks with the Rebuilding Korea Party proceed.
Appearing on the Democratic Party's online program "Minty 07" on the 17th, Kim said that "if the question of a merger with the Rebuilding Korea Party is raised, and assuming a vote of party members, resolving dual memberships must come first."
"It is not right in principle, and regardless of whether a party is in the ruling or opposition camp, dual-membership cases with the Rebuilding Korea Party and others exist within the progressive bloc," Kim said. "I said from the outset that even if we discuss a merger, we would reach a conclusion only after the dual membership issue is cleared up. That is the logical order." He added that "under election law, this cannot move forward unless each party discloses its membership rolls, so I understand they are reviewing and sorting out how to handle it."
Kim also returned to the proposal he floated a day earlier to ease the 15-seat requirement for forming a parliamentary negotiating bloc. "I raised various matters for debate within the progressive parties, including easing the negotiating bloc threshold, and this was agreed on long ago. We already talked about it when we made the rounds this time to the Rebuilding Korea Party, the Progressive Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Basic Income Party," he said. Responding to the Rebuilding Korea Party's statement the previous day that there had been no prior contact with the Democratic Party, Kim countered that "we had already met before that."
On suspicions he raised during the party convention that religious groups including Shincheonji had intervened in politics, Kim said, "I understand the investigation is proceeding carefully and that there has been some progress." He said he had "handed over all the information I had, including testimony from a high-ranking figure formerly with Shincheonji."
Regarding questions surrounding opinion polls conducted during the convention, Kim said, "There is the matter of checking whether the polls were distorted, and in some cases it appears that firms engaged in abnormal or unethical business practices." He added, however, that "the relevant materials are in a safe, and what remains is whether to examine them physically," noting that "this requires the consent of the convention election management committee at the time."
Kim again stressed his vision of "unity of the four currents" — bringing together supporters of Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun, Moon Jae-in and Lee Jae-myung — saying he plans "to move toward a complete unity that encompasses leaders, party members and supporters alike."
Also appearing on the program were supreme council members Choi Min-hee and Park Sun-won, who had competed as part of "Team Jung Chung-rae" at the Aug. 17 convention. Choi said, "Many people must have felt reassured when the party leader spoke of the unity of the four currents yesterday."
