DUP leadership under pressure to resign
The main opposition party's leadership has come under increasing pressure to resign Thursday so presidential hopeful Moon Jae-in can push forward sweeping reforms vital for winning voters ahead of the December race.
The so-called committee for new politics, part of Moon's election camp, called for all party leaders, including Democratic United Party (DUP) chairman Lee Hae-chan and floor leader Park Jie-won, to step down.
Committee members said the "radical measure" is necessary in order to revamp the party to reflect public expectations.
"Public demand for change is overflowing at the moment, yet the leadership has not been able to respond in a satisfactory manner," an official said after Wednesday's late night meeting. He added that with time running out to show the DUP's resolve to transform itself, aggressive measures must be taken.
Other reformists in the party claimed the public image of the DUP remains negative, with many considering it a regional-based, feeble political entity plagued by old-fashioned factionalism.
They said that if the party cannot shake off this image, all efforts by Moon to call for change will seem hollow and without substance.
Reflecting such calls, Rep. Kim Han-gil, resigned from the Supreme Council and called on others to do the same.
"Moon has pledged to revamp the party and abolish all vested rights, and for him to move forward freely, it is best if the leadership gives him all the leeway he needs by stepping down," the lawmaker said.
Kim said that because all the party's authority already rests with Moon's election camp, resignation of the chairman, floor leader and other supreme council members will cause a vacuum or disrupt the running of the DUP.
Despite such calls, Moon said in a news conference earlier in the day, that while he understood why the reform committee called for the wholesale resignation, he had to weigh various realistic considerations.
"I would like more time on this matter," he said, pointing out that both Lee and Park are currently not in the forefront of running the party.
"They have in all intents and purposes stepped down, and do not in any way affect the management of the election camp's activities," he claimed.
The 59-year-old former human rights lawyer pointed out that resignation of the leadership did automatically translate into reforms.
"Real change takes place when the DUP gives up all of its rights and interests, openly exchanges views with the people, and transforms itself into an 'open' party structure," he said.
Related to the latest developments, some political pundits said Moon may be moving cautiously because wholesale resignations could escalate into a power struggle between the party's mainstream and splinter fractions, which have maintained a grudge on how the party has been run for the past few months.
They said such confrontations, if they surface, could harm Moon with just 48 days left before people go to the polls to pick the country's next president. (Yonhap)