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Ruling party consumed by power struggle over merger eight months into office

Published: 03 Feb. 2026, 00:00

Jung Chung-rae, leader of the Democratic Party, rises from his seat after a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly on Tuesday morning. At left is Supreme Council member Lee Un-ju. [LIM HYUN-DONG]

Eight months after taking power, the ruling Democratic Party (DP) is showing signs of internal rupture over a proposed merger with the Rebuilding Korea Party. Tempers flared at a party leadership meeting on Monday, with exchanges likened by some participants to a civil war. Supreme Council member Lee Un-ju, identified with the pro–Lee Jae Myung camp, argued that an early merger would “turn Lee Jae Myung’s DP into the party of Jung Chung-rae and Cho Kuk.” She went further, invoking ancient Rome and suggesting that rebellions by seconds and thirds in command were common, effectively casting party leader Jung as a would-be rebel. The remarks drew an angry response from Moon Jeong-bog, aligned with Jung, who said it was “close to an insult” to speak that way about a proposal from the ruling party’s leader.

The controversy stems in part from Jung’s decision to push for a merger without prior consultation with the party leadership. Jung has argued that in a closely fought election, even minimal support could make a difference. Opponents counter that the real motive is to secure Jung’s reelection at the party convention in August, following changes to the voting system and with backing from the Rebuilding Korea Party. The suspicion has grown so intense that a Cabinet minister was caught on camera messaging a DP lawmaker during a National Assembly session, urging disclosure of any secret deal and warning that “dividing the spoils is unacceptable.”

The Lee Jae Myung administration has been in office for only eight months. It faces mounting challenges, from soaring housing prices in the capital region to responding to higher tariffs imposed by the United States. At a moment when the government and ruling party should be setting and executing an agenda on livelihoods and reform, the spectacle of infighting driven by factional interests and calculations over party control is difficult to justify. The dispute over the merger increasingly resembles a power struggle, underscored by the absence of substantive debate over policy direction or the demands of the times. Attention among figures in the broader ruling camp appears focused less on governance than on positioning for control of nominations in the next general election and the broader presidential landscape.

Speculation continues over whether Prime Minister Kim Min-seok will run at the August convention. At a press briefing on Monday, he said he would focus on state affairs, while adding pointedly that “the era of carving up shares disappeared long ago” in reference to the merger debate. How a ruling camp split into pro–Lee and pro–Jung factions appears to the public is self-evident. Such conduct, visible so early in a new administration, risks projecting arrogance and rapidly eroding expectations. The ultimate fate of governments that follow this path is something the ruling camp should understand better than anyone.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.