Democratic Party Chairman Chung Sye-kyun said yesterday he will work on uniting the "democratic forces" for the turnover of political power in the year of 2012.

"The goal for my second year as the main opposition party`s chairman is to establish the basis to enable the transfer of political power," Chung said in a press conference commemorating his first year in office.

The year 2012 is when the nation selects a new president to run the country for the next five years.

Mentioning that the DP must bring in people who are currently situated outside the party, it must actively bring in former DP lawmakers who are labeled to be loyal to late former President Roh Moo-hyun, said Chung.



"It`s difficult for me to specifically state how that will be put together at this point ... (but) I believe discussions will officially take place after Friday, which is when we pay sacrificial rights to former President Roh," he said.

Friday is when a Buddhist religious service will be conducted, marking the 49th day since the passing of the former president.

"Some may think there`s a lot of time left until the local elections next June, but that isn`t true. We also have the by-elections set to take place in October," Chung said. "We will push for the unification of the democratic forces as soon as we hold the sacrificial rites this week."

However, the DP chairman maintained a cautious stance involving the return of Rep. Chung Dong-young, a former DP presidential candidate and who was elected as an independent lawmaker in a constituency in North Jeolla Province during the last by-elections.



"Our party currently is swamped with many important tasks such as opposing the passage of the controversial bills. This is not the appropriate time to discuss a matter that could split the party or spark an in-party debate," he commented.

(sharon@heraldm.com)





By Cho Ji-hyun