Cho Kuk Innovation Party Proposes "Let's Form a Progressive National Administration One Team Platform" to Ruling Party

Shin Jang-sik: "Solidarity is Essential, Merger is Optional"

Shin Jang-sik, acting leader of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, proposed on the 21st that the Democratic Party of Korea should establish a "National Administration One Team Platform" so that the entire democratic, reformist, and progressive bloc can unite and pool all its capabilities.

At a press conference held at the National Assembly that day, Acting Leader Shin stated, "If the roundtable discussion that took place during the last presidential election is elevated to a permanent national consultative body, the engine for state administration will run even more powerfully," making this suggestion.

When asked by a reporter whether the background to this proposal was the difficulty of merging with the Democratic Party in the near future, he replied, "I do not believe that merger itself should be the goal," adding, "For the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, self-strengthening is fundamental, solidarity is essential, and merger is optional (as a principle)." He also mentioned, "The failure of solidarity resulted in less-than-satisfactory outcomes in the recent local elections."

Regarding the derogatory term "Moonjotollae-yu" directed at pro-Moon Jae-in figures amid escalating class conflict within the Democratic Party ahead of the August party convention, he warned, "Ultimately, this is either an act of self-harm that undermines the citizen-sovereign government or a political maneuver," and stated that he would not stand idly by.

As for the future path of former leader Cho Kuk, he explained, "Former leader Cho is refining the vision that both the Cho Kuk Innovation Party and the Republic of Korea should pursue, and as a citizen of Pyeongtaek, he will continue to live his daily life there."

On the same day, former leader Cho posted on his social media (Facebook) an article titled "Ten Questions the Democratic Party Must Answer Regarding the Pyeongtaek By-election," in which he challenged the ruling party, asking, "Unlike in the past, when the Democratic Party did not nominate candidates in districts where it was at fault, why did it nominate a candidate this time?"

He further pointed out, "The Democratic Party proposed a merger before the June 3 election, but halted the process due to internal disagreements, rejected unification during the campaign, and declared there would be no merger." He then asked, "Does the Democratic Party now consider the Cho Kuk Innovation Party to be necessary only for filling numbers during standing committee and plenary session votes?"

Yonhap News

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.