Anchor: The ruling Democratic Party is pushing a message of internal unity after it decided to put merger talks with the minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party on hold until after the local elections in June. The move has left the minor party questioning the status of their political alliance.
Rosyn Park reports.

Report: The Democratic Party(DP) has shelved its merger plans with the Rebuilding Korea Party after weeks of internal strife. 

On Tuesday, DP leader Jung Chung-rae announced during a party meeting at the National Assembly that merger talks with the Rebuilding Korea Party would be put on hold until after the June 3 local elections.

He said the decision was made in accordance with the will of the party’s lawmakers, adding that there would be postelection talks on integration. 

While expressing regret that a full party-wide vote could not take place, Jung apologized to the public and to members of both parties for the turmoil caused by the proposal he made some 20 days earlier, saying that unity was more urgent than merger discussions.

On Wednesday, Jung said the DP would put its internal differences aside to unite solely for victory in the upcoming elections.

DP Supreme Council members who had been at odds with Jung over the merger have resolved to put the situation behind them.

While the Rebuilding Korea Party accepted the decision to pause merger discussions, its leader, Cho Kuk, called on the DP to clarify whether its solidarity message is an abstract slogan or a call for cooperation in the elections.

Cho stressed that his party was hurt by the DP’s internal merger conflict and said this type of situation should never happen again.
Rosyn Park, KBS World Radio News.