Prompt party merger

Conservatives should not repeat old-fashioned politics

The main opposition United Future Party (UFP) is hesitating to merge with the Future Korea Party (FKP), the satellite party it launched for the April 15 general election under the newly introduced Election Law. Speculation is rife that the FKP, which won 19 proportional seats in the election that delivered a landslide victory to the ruling Democratic Party of Korea amid the coronavirus pandemic, may go it alone without merging with its parent party.

The satellite party can form a floor negotiation bloc should it recruit an independent lawmaker. Then it can recommend a vice speaker and a few committee chairpersons while receiving state subsidies. The party also can get involved in selecting a candidate for the head of a to-be-created corruption investigation office for high-ranking officials. Rep. Won Yoo-chul, the party's leader, said Monday that he would discuss merging his party with the UFP once the parent party's floor leadership is in place. The UFP is to elect a new floor leader Friday, so one could see how the merger issue could be settled soon.

The satellite party's latest move might cause the nation's conservative force to face criticism for using a cheap trick again for political gains. The main opposition party took a lot of flak for launching the FKP in the run-up to the election and prompted the ruling party to create its own satellite party. Given that the UFP is now in disarray over who will take the party's interim leadership, the FKP's independent route might lead to the breakup of the conservative opposition bloc.

The public is already fed up with conservative politicians who continue to bicker despite their crushing defeat. If they repeat their old-fashioned politics, many people will certainly turn their back on them, dealing a fatal blow to the opposition's rebuilding plan. The UFP should be cool-headed and do whatever it can to prevent the conservative bloc from being wiped out.