(LEAD) Minor Rebuilding Korea Party agrees to put off merger talks with ruling party

▲ Cho Kuk, leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, holds a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul on Feb. 11, 2026. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) minor party-merger

(LEAD) Minor Rebuilding Korea Party agrees to put off merger talks with ruling party

(ATTN: UPDATES with Cheong Wa Dae's response in paras 9-10)

SEOUL, Feb. 11 (Yonhap) -- The minor liberal Rebuilding Korea Party said Wednesday it accepted the ruling Democratic Party (DP)'s proposal to set up a preparation committee to discuss cooperation ahead of the June local elections, while postponing talks on a possible merger until after the vote.

The decision came a day after DP leader Jung Chung-rae announced that his party will put discussions on the merger on hold until after the June 3 local elections and form the committee instead to focus on stepping up cooperation.

"We agree with the DP's proposal for a preparation committee on solidarity and integration," Cho Kuk, leader of the minor party, said during an emergency press conference at the National Assembly.

The Rebuilding Korea Party will convene a party affairs committee within the week to ratify the decision.

Cho added that his party will hold talks with the ruling party to clarify whether the "solidarity" proposed by the DP entails a coalition ahead of the elections or is largely symbolic.

Jung floated the merger idea late last month, in a move his supporters said would broaden the party's political base ahead of the local elections.

The proposal, however, triggered strong backlash within the party over both the timing and scope of the merger, prompting Jung to drop the plan and apologize to the minor party on Tuesday.

"We accept the apology," Cho said. "But members of our party were deeply hurt by the slander and insults directed at the party, and this must never happen again."

When asked about President Lee Jae Myung's stance on the proposed merger, Cheong Wa Dae took a cautious note over the politically sensitive issue ahead of the local elections.

"It is a matter that the two parties should decide, and Cheong Wa Dae does not have a separate position on (the merger)," Kang Hoon-sik, the presidential chief of staff, told reporters.

Speaking at a meeting of the DP's Supreme Council on Wednesday, Jung called on his party members to focus on securing victory in the elections and stop putting energy into the merger proposal.

Observers say the suspension of the merger talks is likely to deal a blow to Jung's leadership, as his push for the merger exposed deep factional tensions within the party.

(END)

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