President Lee Jae-myung reportedly shows positive response to merger with Rebuilding Party during dinner with Democratic Party senior lawmakers with five or more terms on the 28th of last month
Former Representative Chung Chung-rae says, "Merger must happen by next January"… citing need for six months of recruiting regular party members for joining figures ahead of 2028 general elections
Rep. Lee Hae-shik pushes back asking, "Who sets the deadline?", while head Park Bum-kye says "Blitz-style promotion through leadership decision is desirable"
Rebuilding Party states, "Not a cheap card for the ruling party to turn the political tide"… Approval rating hits 8.1% based on Realmeter, highest in two years
Whenever regime approval ratings waver, what emerges in the National Assembly is not the welfare of the citizens, but the reallocation of political power. As discussions on a 'merger' between the Democratic Party and the Rebuilding Party resurfaced following reports of President Lee Jae-myung's positive response, the Rebuilding Party warned, "This is not a cheap card easily pulled out by the ruling party to turn the political tide." Critics point out that the fact that the embers of discussion were reignited at a dinner gathering rather than an official presidential meeting room speaks volumes about the nature of this debate.
The issue of the merger between the two parties was first proposed by former Democratic Party leader Chung Chung-rae last January, but fell through due to internal party backlash. Then, right after taking office in August, leader Kim Min-seok launched the Grand Integration Promotion Unit under the banner of 'pan-ruling camp integration', even creating a separate Rebuilding Party solidarity subcommittee, but has produced no tangible results so far. Following reports that the President gave a positive response to the merger during a dinner with senior Democratic lawmakers on the 28th of last month, the discussion resurfaced. On a YouTube broadcast on the 31st of last month, former leader Chung even suggested a deadline, saying, "Personally, it needs to be done by next January." The calculation is that at least a six-month recruitment period is required to grant regular party member status to figures joining from the Rebuilding Party ahead of the 2028 general elections.
The Democratic Party is also not speaking with one voice. Rep. Lee Hae-shik, who is in charge of merger negotiations with the Rebuilding Party, posted on Facebook on the 1st, asking, "Who gets to set the deadline that it must be wrapped up by next January? Would it help the merger if former leader Chung, who is certainly not free from some responsibility for the local election defeat, sets deadlines like a prophet?" On the other hand, Grand Integration Promotion Unit Chief Park Bum-kye countered on a radio program on the 2nd, saying, "It is desirable to proceed swiftly or by a blitz through the political decisions of both leaderships," adding that there is plenty of time until next summer for a deadline. Rebuilding Party Floor Leader Kim Joon-hyung stated firmly during the supreme council meeting the same day, "A merger without principles cannot win the hearts of citizens who have walked the path of overcoming domestic turmoil and reform together," and Chief Floor Spokesperson Lim Myung-hee expressed deep regret over the Democratic Party's "one-sided media play."
To borrow the Rebuilding Party's own words, this talk of a merger is political engineering designed to turn the political tide. The fact that the Rebuilding Party's approval rating hit 8.1% in a Realmeter poll—its highest in two years since November 2024—is also cited as justification for rushing the absorption merger. The question the youth generation must ask is simple: What does binding two leftist voter bases into one have to do with the lives of the people? This combination, tailored to the general election schedule for recruiting regular party members, puts party member registries and electoral calculations first and policies last. If the merger actually takes place, the final judge will not be lawmakers, but voters. The deadlines and justifications decided at dinner parties will ultimately be settled by votes.