"Confidential document promised appointed supreme council seat to Rebuilding Korea Party" Leak reignites secret-deal allegations

Infighting within the Democratic Party of Korea over a proposed merger with the Rebuilding Korea Party is intensifying. Tensions reached a peak after media outlets reported on an internal DPK document about the merger. The dispute spilled into an open shouting match at the supreme council meeting, and some lawmakers called for an emergency general meeting of the parliamentary caucus.

On the 6th, a media report revealed a confidential document from the DPK Secretariat that outlined, among other things, appointing a Rebuilding Korea Party figure as an appointed supreme council member and granting the right to nominate the governor of North Jeolla Province in the event of a merger. This brought back to the surface allegations that a secret deal had been struck.
Jung Cheong-rae and the pro-leadership camp immediately denied the allegations and launched an investigation into how the document was leaked. Meanwhile, lawmakers outside the leadership, centered on the pro–Lee Jae-myung faction, demanded that merger talks be halted and that a general meeting of DPK lawmakers be convened.
At the supreme council meeting at the National Assembly that day, Jung said the document was "a kind of accident in which a working-level paper that was neither formally reported to, discussed by, nor implemented by the official meeting was leaked," and ordered secretary-general Cho Seung-rae to conduct a fact-finding probe.
Secretary-General Cho explained that staff had drafted the paper after consulting on merger procedures and past precedents. "In a merger, the main issues to be discussed are the party name, leadership structure, and party constitution and rules," he said. "Calling this a secret deal based on that document is wrong." He added, "It was written on the 27th of last month and has never been reported to Jung or the supreme council."
Jung is currently trying to persuade lawmakers one-on-one, grouped by seniority (number of terms), regarding the merger. He plans to hold a vote of all party members and then seek approval for the merger at a party convention or a meeting of the party’s Central Committee in early next month. The leak of the confidential document erupted just as these steps were being prepared, but Jung intends to push ahead, buoyed by his recent success in instituting a one-member, one-vote system for party members.

Non-leadership lawmakers, including the pro–Lee Jae-myung faction, are using the leak of the confidential document to step up their opposition to the merger. They first voiced their objections directly to Jung during the open portion of the supreme council meeting.
Supreme council member Hwang Myung-sun said, "The reported merger document shows that this proposal was a merger with a predetermined outcome from the very beginning," adding, "Stop all procedures related to the merger, disclose the document, its author, and how it was drafted, and issue an official apology to party members."
Supreme council member Kang Deuk-gu argued, "If this document is accurate, it means a secret merger deal was made," and continued, "Jung says he did not know about it, but he must clarify whether it was drawn up on his instructions, when it was written, whether it was discussed with the Rebuilding Korea Party leader, and whether there was any allocation of positions." He also dismissed Jung’s meetings with lawmakers by seniority as mere "political theater."
Four-term lawmaker Park Hong-geun, who is preparing to run for Seoul mayor, also publicly raised criticism. He effectively moved to block the plan even before Jung’s scheduled meeting that day with senior lawmakers to persuade them on the merger. Park said, "Given how detailed the merger plan is, it is unlikely that the party leader was not briefed on it," and demanded, "By early next week at the latest, Jung should state that he will completely halt any discussion of a merger before the local elections."
Two-term lawmaker Han Joon-ho, considered a potential candidate for governor of Gyeonggi Province, called for an emergency general meeting of DPK lawmakers. "If the report is true, we cannot help but raise fundamental questions about whether the merger process has been proceeding toward a predetermined conclusion," he said. "I hope the push for a merger before the local elections will be stopped at this point. We can no longer rely solely on Jung’s personal decision," he added, urging that the caucus be convened.
uknow@fnnews.com Kim Yoon-ho Reporter