Supporters of former President Park Geun-hye declared their support for Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate, on the 19th. They also officially joined the party that day.
Seven organizations, including the Park Geun-hye Supporters, the Movement to Defend a Free Republic of Korea, the Political Reform Coalition, and the People Power Party's Northern Gyeonggi Province chapter, held a press conference at the Democratic Party's headquarters in the afternoon, stating, "We intend to withdraw our support for the People Power Party, which has shown no self-reflection following the martial law and insurrection, and depart from it."
They stated, "We have come to publicly declare our support for the candidate, who seeks to practice national unity and reconciliation, while suppressing our disillusionment and anger towards a shameless party that completely denies any responsibility for the national chaos and division that followed the impeachment of the two former presidents (Park Geun-hye and Yoon Suk-yeol) and blames it all on others."
After the press conference, supporters of former President Park officially joined the Democratic Party. The party appointed Kim Dong-ryul, the head of the Park Geun-hye Supporters, as the chairperson of the National Unity Committee of the party's election headquarters.
Lee In-ki, the chairperson of the Democratic Party's National Unity Committee, noted, "The support for candidate Lee Jae-myung by the key supporters of former President Park Geun-hye represents a significant shift in voter sentiment in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province (TK)," adding, "Their support is so surprising that it makes me doubt my own eyes and ears as someone who has long been involved in a conservative party."
Earlier, on the 13th, the supporters' groups of former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, including 'Hong Samo,' 'Hong Sarang,' and 'Gukmin Tonghap Jin Hong,' also declared their public support for the candidate.