Merger with progressive groups ends three-year history of main opposition


The main opposition Democratic Party was officially reborn as the new Democratic Unified Party in an attempt to prosper in next year’s general and presidential elections.

The joint merger committee resolved Friday to start the new party, which will embrace the DP, the Citizen Integration Party and the Korean Federation of Trade Unions.

The consolidation of the DP and the CIP, which mostly consists of those loyal to the late President Roh Moo-hyun, sees the reunion of long-separated liberal politicians and leading figures of the former Roh administration.

The committee also nominated a provisional council to lead the party until Jan. 15 when a national convention will be held to elect a six-member decision-making body including the chairperson.

DP lawmaker Rep. Won Hye-young and CIP leader Lee Yong-seon are to co-chair the council, officials said.

As some 20 figures set out to challenge for the party presidency, an internal cutoff election is to take place on Dec. 26 to narrow them down to nine candidates.

Upon the formal announcement of the merger, the DP ended its three-year history which began in July, 2008.

“The DP will be reborn as a larger and stronger party,” said chairman Rep. Sohn Hak-kyu in the party’s last general and Supreme Council meeting held on Friday morning.

Sohn, together with senior members Reps. Chung Dong-young and Chung Sye-kyun, thus stepped down from the DP council to gear up for the presidential race in November.

The predecessor of the DP was separated into two parties back in 2003 when former President Roh and his aides established the Uri Party.

However, the UP later was disbanded amid an internal split and external criticism, and many of the pro-Roh figures were consigned to political obscurity.

Though the DP began as the leading liberal party in 2008, it came to face an identity crisis, especially in this year’s Seoul mayoral by-election in which non-party candidate Park Won-soon was elected.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)