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| Saenuri Party Chairman Kim Moo-sung bows after announcing his resignation as party chief during a press conference at the National Assembly, Thursday. Kim said he will step down to take responsibility for the party's stunning defeat in Wednesday's general election. / Yonhap |
Rep. Won Yoo-chul tapped as interim leader
By Kim Hyo-jin
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The emergence of a powerful third party led by Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, and the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea's (MPK) results in the election will provide new challenges to President Park Geun-hye as well as the ruling party.
The Saenuri Party's losses have made it the second-largest party with 122 seats after the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) clinched 123 seats in the 300-member legislature. Including the 38 seats secured by the minor opposition People's Party, members of the opposition bloc now outnumber the governing party for the first time in 16 years when it occurred during the Roh Moo-hyun administration in 2004.
Following the surprise setback, party Chairman Kim Moo-sung stepped down and some Supreme Council members followed suit. Rep. Won Yoo-chul will lead the party as an interim leader until June when the Saenuri Party will select its new chairman and Supreme Council members.
The Saenuri Party's defeat in the elections is poised to deal a blow to the Park administration's agenda including proposed labor reform, deregulation in the economic sector and passage of a counter cyber terrorism bill. Park is likely to perform a cabinet reshuffle. Hyun Ki-hwan, the senior presidential secretary for political affairs, is at risk of being replaced, say observers.
Lawmakers close to Park are expected to lose ground, according to analysts. The infighting over nominations led by Park loyalists is now being cited as a major cause of lost votes even in its traditional strongholds.
Analysts said the party now has a tough path in the run-up to the 2107 presidential election with faltering support and a lack of options for potential candidates.
"I'm stepping down from the leadership post as of today to take responsibility of the crushing defeat in the election," Saenuri Party Chairman Kim Moo-sung said at a party meeting, Thursday.
"We let down the citizens while being fragmented and showing shameful practices in the process of nominations...The outcome tells us that we were idle in serving the people."
Despite Kim's resignation, a factional feud is still simmering over who else should be held accountable for the humiliating result.
Lee Hye-hoon, a lawmaker-elect, criticized the pro-Park faction in a radio interview, saying, "They were the mainstream who wielded power in party affairs, especially in unfair nominations that aimed to exclude certain figures. The citizens sent a warning signal on such practices but they ignored it."
Lee Jung-hyun, another successful candidate and a Park loyalist, struck back at Lee later, saying, "this is not the time to play the blame game, but the time to get together to understand why we failed to attract voters."
Some, however, regard the simmering factional conflict as a problem to be contained because party reform is now the dominant issue before the presidential election.
"The party needs to change its leadership structure and renew its image; factions could be brought together under this urgent mission," said Kim Sung-joo, a professor at Sung Kyun Kwan University.
"Major change awaits the party. The power structure will be re-made depending on who is put forward as a presidential candidate. But for now there seems no card on the Saenuri Party's side except U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon."
The Saenuri Party won only 35 seats in the capital area where 122 seats were up for grabs. On its home turf Daegu, Busan and Gyeongsang Provinces, it handed over 17 seats to opposition and independent candidates.
Potential presidential candidates — Oh Se-hoon, former Seoul mayor, and ex-Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Moon-soo, — were routed by the MPK's Chung Sye-kyun and Kim Boo-kyum, respectively.
"The nomination row was just a trigger effect. It was a judgment on the Park government that failed to resolve economic issues like the high unemployment rate and widened income gap," said Kim Hyung-joon, a political science professor at Myongji University.
"Unless Park and the ruling party change their high-handed and unilateral way of handling state affairs, the prospect is slim that it could retain the presidency."
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