韩国媒体报道，韩国执政党共同民主党领导层近日就是否与第二大在野党祖国革新党合并发生分歧，相 关进程停滞。祖国革新党党首曹国8日敦促共同民主党在13日前就是否合并表态。 曹国8日在国会举行的记者会上敦促共同民主党就合并作出正式表态。他说，如果共同民主党不能在13 日前作出决定，祖国革新党将不再考虑合并。 韩国《朝鲜日报》报道，郑清来或将在10日举行党内会议收集意见后表明立场。 两党合并提议由共同民主党党首郑清来1月22日提出。郑清来说，共同民主党和祖国革新党秉持同样精 神，曾联手反对前总统尹锡悦，推动组建新政府。随着今年6月地方选举临近，他希望两党能尽早合 并，共同面对选战。 这一提议在共同民主党领导层引发争论。该党最高委员会委员李彦周对此表示强烈反对，称郑清来和曹 国推动两党合并显露出他们"对权力的野心"。还有反对者称，郑清来此举真正目的是在8月举行的全党 大会上获得连任，得到祖国革新党支持有助于其胜选。随着共同民主党内部矛盾日益公开化，两党合并 进程停滞。 来源：新华社 作者: 张旌 ...

Core Viewpoint - The largest opposition party in Japan, along with a former coalition partner, is discussing deeper cooperation and the possibility of merging ahead of the upcoming elections [1][3]. Group 1: Election Context - Prime Minister Sanna Takashi is expected to dissolve the House of Representatives on January 23, leading to early elections, with a significant bet on expanding her majority in the lower house [1][3]. - The elections are reported to be scheduled for February 8, allowing approximately two weeks for campaigning [1][3]. Group 2: Opposition Collaboration - The Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) and the Komeito party, which recently exited the long-standing coalition with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), are set to meet to discuss potential collaboration in the anticipated early elections [1][3]. - Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito emphasized the need to unite centrist forces to safeguard the livelihoods of the Japanese people [1][3]. Group 3: Potential Impact of Merging - A merger between the CDP and Komeito could create a formidable opposition force that may challenge Prime Minister Takashi [1][3]. - CDP leader Yoshihiko Noda expressed agreement with Komeito that there is no legitimate reason for the dissolution of the House and confirmed their intent to collaborate at a high level [1][3]. Group 4: Political Strategy - Komeito is reportedly considering not fielding candidates in single-member districts and instead urging supporters to vote for CDP candidates, focusing on winning more proportional representation votes [2][4].