Rival parties to allow seceders to rejoin party

Jan 10, 2022, 08:53 am

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Rep. Song Young-gil, leader of the ruling Democratic Party, takes a commemorative photo with the members of the party at a ceremony held for those who joined the party in Seoul on Dec. 30, 2021./ Source: Yonhap News

AsiaToday reporter Jeong Geum-min

With the presidential election just two months away, the two major parties are accelerating the ‘great camp unification’. They are trying to seize victory in the election by uniting their traditional supporters.

Rep. Jeong Seong-ho of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) has booked Monday a press conference related to party defectors, according to the National Assembly on Sunday. The move is seen as part of the integration process after DP presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung called for ‘general amnesty of the democratic bloc’. As a result, the ruling party is expected to allow those, who left the party, to rejoin the party. The seceders include those who moved to the minor opposition People’s Party in 2016.

Kim Kwan-young, chairman of the National Unification Committee under the DP’s election committee, told AsiaToday that nearly 30 lawmakers who have been at the People’s Party expressed their intentions to rejoin the party. “We asked them to rejoin the party for the sake of great unity of democratic and reform forces, and those who responded to it would be brought to the press conference,” Kim said.

Previously, the DP announced that it would allow seceders, who apply to rejoin from Jan. 3 to Jan. 17, to rejoin the party except for cases of those who had left the party due to sexual abuse or dissatisfaction with the primary results. As a result, many are returning to the ruling party, including Cheon Jeong-bae, Yoo Seong-yeop, Choi Kyung-hwan, Kim Yu-jeong, Jeng Ho-jun, Kim Kwang-soo, Kim Jong-hoe, Lee Yong-ju, Woo Je-hang, Seon Byung-ryeol, and Kim Se-woong.

Last month, the Supreme Council of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) sent an official letter to city and provincial parties across the country saying that it would approve the rejoining of applications who had left the party. This is in line with the keynote of PPP head Lee Jun-seok, who said last June, “We will open the door to those who have been separated from the party for political reasons for the sake of unification of the pan-opposition.”

Usually, the party membership qualification committee of cities and provinces review application for reinstatement and make a decision. However, approval from the highest level of the central party is required for some cases.

“We have received applications for reinstatement several times according to the party’s amnesty policy,” a municipal party chairperson under the People’s Party said. “Except for those with serious personal disqualification, applicants are undergoing reinstatement procedures,” he added.

“As the Democratic Party is bringing back those who left the party, it would be good for the People’s Party to allow defectors to rejoin the party, unless they are not dishonest criminals,” said Chung Woo-taek, chairman of the North Chungcheong provincial party committee.

#Democratic Party #Peoples Party #rejoin