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Ruling Party Member Deletes Post Alleging President’s Merger Support

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Ruling Party Member Deletes Post Alleging President’s Merger Support

Kang Deuk-gu, a senior member of the pro-Myung faction within the ruling Democratic Party of Korea who had opposed leader Jung Chung-rae’s proposal to merge with the minor liberal Rebuilding Korea Party, posted and later deleted a Facebook message stating that after meeting with Hong Ik-pyo, Cheong Wa Dae Chief of Political Affairs, he learned that President Lee Jae Myung supports the merger. The People Power Party protested, calling it “the President’s political intervention.” Kang later explained that his staff had mistakenly posted the message.

In his Facebook post on the 10th, Kang wrote, “As I mentioned yesterday, I met with Chief Hong. The President’s stance on unification (merger), as conveyed by Chief Hong, is in favor of unification.” Kang also stated, “Given the current situation, unification before the local elections is difficult, but the President hopes to proceed with the merger after the local elections and hold a unified party convention. I was also informed that the President wishes for a task force on the merger to be prepared immediately once Jung Chung-rae announces his position on the merger tomorrow (the 11th).”

Kang’s post was uploaded before the Democratic Party leadership decided at a Supreme Council meeting to halt discussions on the merger. It suggested that President Lee had expressed his intention to establish a task force for the merger before the party officially suspended the talks.

Kang added, “Under this premise, Jung Chung-rae proposed that the discussion body for unification be led by the secretaries-general of both parties, with a practical working group linked to the discussion body. If this is announced this week, the Presidential Office is planning events related to unification for next week.”

The post also included, “There seems to be a discrepancy with what the Prime Minister mentioned. While I think it’s necessary to confirm the President’s exact stance, this was the content conveyed by Chief Hong.” Some political circles speculated, “Did Kang mistakenly upload a message intended for Prime Minister Kim Min-seok’s office on Facebook?” Kang deleted the post shortly after uploading it.

Park Sung-hoon, senior spokesperson for the People Power Party, commented, “The suspicion of President Lee Jae Myung’s ‘interference in party affairs’ has been revealed through the Democratic Party’s internal communications.” Park added, “Interference in party affairs was the very reason the Democratic Party cried out for impeachment. Since specific details of the conversation with Hong Ik-pyo have been mentioned, they cannot backtrack now.”

Lee Dong-hoon, senior spokesperson for the Reform Party, stated, “The President’s interference in party affairs is by no means trivial. Former President Park Geun-hye was also impeached and criminally punished over allegations of party interference. The Presidential Office should not just repeat denials but provide a clear explanation that the public can accept.”

Cheong Wa Dae denied the allegations, stating, “There has been no discussion or guidance regarding the merger.”

When meeting with reporters that day, Kang apologized, saying, “I am sorry for causing concern.” He explained, “I posted it before the facts were clarified and took it down immediately. It probably took about 2-3 minutes to remove.” When asked if his staff had mistakenly posted it, he replied, “Yes.” Regarding whether the content was a report to Prime Minister Kim, he said, “Not at all.” When asked if he had never met with Chief Hong, he answered, “Yes.”

Kang later posted a separate explanation on Facebook, writing, “Although it was an internal mistake in my office, various speculations and malicious rumors have spread, causing me pain throughout the night. It was entirely my oversight.”

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