Ruling party faces breakup with lawmakers' departure

Gyeonggi Province Governor Nam Kyung-pil, right, and Rep. Kim Yong-tae announce their decision to quit the Saenuri Party during a press conference at the National Assembly, Tuesday. / Yonhap

By Kang Seung-woo

Gyeonggi Province Governor Nam Kyung-pil and Rep. Kim Yong-tae quit the ruling Saenuri Party, Tuesday, expressing their frustration with the party leadership controlled by followers of President Park Geun-hye.

Their departures may trigger a major exodus of fellow lawmakers and senior members who have been at odds with the pro-Park faction, which has refused to give up party posts and are going all-out to protect Park from the nation’s biggest political scandal.

Conservative advocacy groups are turning their back on the party as well as the President, as approval ratings for both have plunged to record levels.

“I will try to make the moribund Saenuri Party disappear into the mists of history and set up a new organization to replace it,” said Nam, considered a presidential hopeful from the ruling camp, in a joint press conference with Kim at the National Assembly.

“The Saenuri Party has lost the purpose of its existence as it is seeking to represent a specific group for its own private interests.”

As for President Park, Nam, formerly a five-term lawmaker, said a president who undermines the values of the Constitution and violates the law for the sake of personal interests does not deserve the mandate granted by the people and they must regain it.

Kim, a reform-minded three-term lawmaker, also said, “Despite the majority of public opinion that the Saenuri Party and the President are accomplices in the scandal, the party still feels unapologetic about it.”

He added that Park has disrupted the free-market order by extorting funds from conglomerates, based on the prosecution’s interim investigation results, unveiled Sunday, finding that Cheong Wa Dae coerced major conglomerates to “donate” massive funds for the establishment of the Mir and K-Sports foundations controlled by Choi.

Political analysts expect that their defection could pave the way for other Saenuri Party Assemblymen ― especially those who do not follow Park ― to follow suit amid a factional feud over the scandal.

“Although public anger against the ruling party is growing, its pro-Park leadership is still protecting the President, leading non-mainstream lawmakers to consider leaving the party to form a fresh conservative group,” said Yoon Hee-woong, a senior researcher at Opinion Live.

Nam also said in a radio interview ahead of the press conference that more than 20 lawmakers are considering leaving the party, adding that a wave of defections is a “matter of time.”

Rep. Kim Moo-sung, a former party chairman, former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and other senior lawmakers, including Na Kyung-won and Choung Byoung-gug, are also said to be discussing plans to quit the Saenuri Party.

Yoon said former Chairman Kim’s decision will set the course for future defections from the party.

“Kim is a de facto leader of the non-mainstreamers, so whether he will stay will greatly affect their decision,” he said.

However, Kim remained cautious about his plan.

“I will not comment on the issue at this point,” Kim told reporters after attending the first anniversary of former President Kim Young-sam’s death.