Opposition leader hints at resignation amid nomination row
By Kim Hyo-jin
Kim Chong-in, interim leader of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, speaks to reporters as he leaves his home early Monday. He vented his anger at party officials who criticized his choice of candidates for proportional representation seats. / Yonhap
Kim Chong-in, interim leader of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK), indicated Monday that he may step down amid conflict over the selection of proportional representation candidates for the April 13 general election.
“I don’t have the slightest intention to work for a party that insults a person like this,” Kim told reporters. “Now I’ve lost interest in keeping my leadership post.”
Kim took flak from party members, Sunday, after placing himself as the second candidate on the list of possible proportional representatives.
Additional controversy arose when others selected through Kim’s recommendation turned out to have ethical or ideological issues.
Amid a barrage of criticism on alleged “abuse of power,” Kim dismissed the reaction as a flare-up of discontent with his leadership and political ideology.
“I refuse to accept the accusation that I’m doing the job for my own personal interest. I’m here to act as a doctor for an emergency patient; but if the patient has no will to beat the disease, there’s nothing I can do,” Kim said. “It’s just an excuse. In fact, they are attacking me for my political ideology.”
The remarks came a day after the party’s central committee rearranged the list of proportional representatives created by the Kim-led emergency planning committee.
In protest, Kim boycotted party affairs. With his absence, the emergency planning committee held a meeting to seek arbitration between Kim and his detractors.
It pushed Kim back to 14th on the list and cancelled the controversial selection of Park Jong-hun, a former Air Force chief of staff who had made harsh comments about former MPK leader Moon Jae-in.
During the 2012 presidential election, Park publicly supported then ruling party candidate Park Geun-hye, and allegedly called Moon a “North Korea follower.”
In addition his son works for a defense industry firm that was involved in irregularities. The Board of Audit and Inspection found that the firm overcharged the Air Force for management fees through fake tax receipts.
The provisional list of 43 proportional representation candidates brought a severe backlash from lawmakers and party members. They raised questions over the qualifications of some figures ranked high on the list.
Park Kyung-mi, a professor at Hongik University who was placed first on the list, was involved in plagiarism in the past. Park was accused of having plagiarized the dissertation of her student in 2004. However, she was left unchanged in the list order after the committee meeting.
The list also drew criticism for under-representing women and the disabled. Experts including seven professors were prioritized, ranked in the upper part of the list.
“We need reconsideration of those controversial figures who wouldn’t help the party with victory in the election,” veteran lawmakers Reps. Choo Mi-ae and Chung Sye-kyun said in a press release. “We should give priority to societal minorities as the party platform stated.”
About 10 party members protested strongly on a visit to the National Assembly, kicking the door of the leader’s office. They urged Kim to step down, saying “the list should be remade from the start.”