Opposition politicians rush to defect to join new parties

Junseok Lee, Nakyeon Lee

Opposition parties saw several defections of their members on January 15. Former lawmakers Shin Kyung-min and Choi Un-yeol from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and lawmaker Ryu Ho-jung and former lawmaker Park Won-seok from the Justice Party (JP) declared that they are leaving the parties. For now, the direction where they are heading to is different, but their final destination is a new unified party. The success of the new party is ultimately determined by the formation of the alliance between former Lee Jun-seok and Lee Nak-yon, leaders of the ruling People’s Power Party (PPP) and the main opposition DPK, respectively.

Former lawmakers Shin and Choi announced their defection in the National Assembly. Shin said, "The oligopoly of the two parties is causing disappointment and despair.” Choi said, "The people have long given up hope to the two giant parties." Former Goyang Mayor Choi Sung, former Bucheon Mayor Jang Deok-cheon, and former Jecheon Mayor Lee Geun-gyu also joined the press conference. They will be joining a new party, which is being promoted by Lee Nak-yeon. Former National Assembly Vice Chairman Lee Seok-hyun, who defected from the DPK on December 27 last year, is working on the creation of the new party.

Nine former members of the JP, including Ryu and Park, also left the party on the same day. At a press conference at the National Assembly, Ryu said, "The JP is becoming a sub-party of the DPK again,” and announced that she will join a new party created by former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop. Ryu was the No. 1 proportional representative of the JP. If she leaves the party, she will lose her seat at the National Assembly.

Seven of the nine members who announced their defection from the JP, including Park, plan to join a new party led by the group of lawmakers Kim Jong-min, Lee Won-wook, and Cho Eung-chun, who defected from the DPK. Park already serves as a chairman of the creation committee of the new party.

Recently, the exodus of opposition politicians toward the third parties has continued. However, the movement of active lawmakers is not in full swing. Only three major lawmakers, Kim Jong-min, Lee Won-wook, and Cho Eung-chun, are working on the creation of a new party. A Democratic Party lawmaker said, "Active lawmakers will leave only when the results of the nomination of candidates for the upcoming general election are outlined to some extent."

The success of third parties will likely be determined by the size of their tents. The key will be how well the five third-party parties can come together. The decisive criterion will be whether the former ruling party's leader, Lee Jun-seok, and the former opposition's leader, Lee Nak-yon, can form a coalition.

However, it is expected that there will be difficulties as the power struggle has already been detected. Park Won-seok told reporters, "The third zone cannot be anyone's new party and should be a new party of some value." On the other hand, former lawmaker of Gyeonggi Province Shin Jung-hyun, who is preparing to launch a new future, said on the phone interview, "We cannot succeed with Lee Nak-yon's face alone, but we cannot succeed without Lee Nak-yon either."

Lee Jun-seok appeared on a YouTube channel and expressed a negative view on the argument that the coalition of the third zone should be completed before the Lunar New Year holiday. “I honestly think it's too soon. We will complete the process of establishing a new party around the 20th of this month, and if we finish integrating the third zone before the Lunar New Year holiday, the new party itself will be like a new party for merger. The big tent that wins is not about who to work with but how and why. It is not something that can be done in a hurry."

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.