Cho Kuk claims ruling party infighting blocked merger

Feb 13, 2026, 07:58 am

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Cho Kuk, leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, speaks at a press conference at the National Assembly on Feb. 8 regarding a potential merger with the Democratic Party of Korea.

Cho Kuk, leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, claimed Thursday that President Lee Jae-myung had initially favored a merger with the Democratic Party of Korea before the upcoming local elections, but the plan collapsed due to an internal power struggle within the ruling party.

In an interview on KBS1’s current affairs program Sasa Geonggeon, Cho said he had repeatedly confirmed President Lee’s intentions through former senior presidential secretary Woo Sang-ho.

“Don’t I have decades-long ties with former senior secretary Woo?” Cho said. “Through him and others, I confirmed several times that the president believed it was right to merge before the local elections to broaden the government’s support base.”

He added, “Woo is not someone who would distort the president’s words,” emphasizing that the message reflected Lee’s long-held conviction.

Cho’s remarks contradict recent claims by some Democratic Party lawmakers who have argued that President Lee preferred a post-election merger.

Cho attributed the breakdown of merger talks to factional conflict inside the Democratic Party.

“A merger proposed by the ruling party leader did not proceed through rational internal discussions or debate,” he said. “Instead, it was reframed as an issue tied to the next party leadership and presidential race, turning into a power struggle.”

He also pointed to rivalry within the pro-Lee (pro–Lee Jae-myung) camp, describing what he called a competition to prove who is the “true loyalist.”

“That kind of political self-harm has continued, harming the Lee Jae-myung administration,” Cho said, adding that his party had been subjected to “false accusations and insulting remarks,” which angered its members.

Regarding a recent controversial social media post by Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Deuk-gu, Cho said, “If you read the sentence as it is, you can tell who the intended recipient was. It shows that there are differing interests within the party regarding the president’s intentions.”

He further suggested that internal Democratic Party dynamics may have led to the leak of documents outlining potential merger terms.

Separately, Cho officially confirmed he will run in the June local elections.

“As a politician, it is clear that I will run in the upcoming June election,” he said.

Cho added that he will decide by late March whether to run for a metropolitan mayoral post in Seoul or Busan, or to seek a seat in a parliamentary by-election.

Because cooperation with the Democratic Party remains uncertain, Cho said his party would first focus on recruiting and placing candidates for the local elections before making a final decision.

On potential electoral alliances, Cho reiterated his party’s stance: free competition in regions where the People Power Party has little chance of winning, such as Honam, and candidate unification in closely contested areas like the Seoul metropolitan region and the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam corridor.

He also urged the Democratic Party not to field candidates in by-elections triggered by its own responsibility, citing districts such as Pyeongtaek and Gunsan as examples, calling it “a principle of political reform.”

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