Yoo Eui-dong, the People Power Party candidate running in the parliamentary by-election in Pyeongtaek-B, Gyeonggi Province, said Monday that he is "seriously raising the level of consideration" regarding candidate unification with Hwang Kyo-ahn of the Liberty and Innovation Party.
"I am hearing many voices saying that conservatives need to unite their voice into one," Yoo said in a YTN Radio interview the same day. When the host followed up by asking whether his remarks should be interpreted as leaving room for unification, Yoo answered, "Yes."
Yoo's comments mark a step forward from his previous position on unification. He had until now maintained that "as of now, (unification) is not a priority." This was analyzed as reflecting his judgment that little synergy could be expected from joining forces with Hwang, who has advocated claims such as election fraud.
Asked whether it would be burdensome to accept Hwang's "election fraud" claims, Yoo said, "I have never heard a precondition demanding that I acknowledge election fraud." He added: "There will clearly be differences within the conservative camp. There may be differences between Candidate Hwang's views and my own, but those differences will not be greater than those with the Democratic Party of Korea or the Rebuilding Korea Party. Given that residents are calling for it (unification), my basic position is that we cannot ignore it, and I am taking it seriously."
When asked which candidate he would prefer to see emerge from unification on the progressive side—Kim Yong-nam of the Democratic Party of Korea or Cho Kuk of the Rebuilding Korea Party—Yoo replied, "I do not think Candidate Cho's supporters and Candidate Kim's supporters are interchangeable." He added, "I don't think it would translate into a simple sum, and I believe it would provoke another backlash, so it is not a major burden for me."
