Ruling party: "Merger has justification, but difficult to push in current situation"

[Financial News] As the Democratic Party of Korea (DP) wraps up internal consultations on a possible merger with the Rebuilding Korea Party, it appears the party will temporarily halt related discussions.
After a closed-door general meeting of lawmakers at the National Assembly on the 10th, DP chief spokesperson Park Su-hyeon told reporters, "Most lawmakers agree on the need for integration, but they expressed the view that, although there is justification for pursuing a merger in the current situation, it would be difficult to move forward."
Park added, "There were almost no lawmakers who explicitly voiced opposition to the merger," and went on, "The party leader’s merger proposal stemmed from a genuine intention to ensure the success of the Lee Jae-myung administration’s governance through a sweeping victory in the local elections. At the same time, there was also a shared understanding of how the situation has been unfolding during the process of pushing this plan."
Regarding the possibility of revisiting the merger issue, he said, "Various opinions were raised, mainly about timing, such as suggestions to revisit the matter after the local elections, or that we should consider an electoral alliance with the Rebuilding Korea Party instead of a full merger."
Meanwhile, the question of holding a vote among all party members, which party leader Jeong has been advocating as necessary, was not discussed at the general meeting. Since a prior meeting between party leader Jeong and second-term lawmakers produced a consensus that "the current conflict should be resolved within the party," the issue appears to have been excluded from the agenda of the general meeting.
jiwon.song@fnnews.com Song Ji-won Reporter