United front eyed against President
By Rachel Lee
Seven presidential hopefuls from the opposition bloc will hold a meeting Sunday to discuss how to deal with scandal-ridden President Park Geun-hye, party officials said Friday.
Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, former leader of the second-largest opposition People’s Party, proposed the meeting to form a united front against Park, who has virtually rejected calls for her resignation and showed determination to remain in office, the officials said.
Six other potential candidates who will attend the meeting are former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Moon Jae-in, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, former opposition leader Sohn Hak-kyu, South Chungcheong Governor Ahn Hee-jung, DPK lawmaker Kim Boo-kyum and Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung.
Kim Kyung-rok, the People’s Party’s spokesman, said, “Those lawmakers who are responsible for and worry about the future of the country and lives of the people will make efforts together to find ways to normalize the collapse of the government.”
The former People’s Party leader was initially planning to include presidential hopefuls from the ruling Saenuri Party in the discussion, but decided to take the “first step” with the opposition members, Kim said.
The move is expected to consolidate cooperation among the opposition bloc, which has faced internal conflict since DPK Chairwoman Choo Mi-ae proposed on Monday holding bilateral talks with Park, and members had problems agreeing on details regarding the President’s resignation.
Choo retracted the proposal the next day amid protests from her colleagues and other political parties. The chairwoman later explained that she intended to deliver the public sentiment to the embattled President, who seems to be failing to understand the situation.
The lawmakers will meet on Sunday after a rally at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul today that will call for Park to step down. Since Nov. 5, there has been a large-scale rally every Saturday, with some 1 million people crowding the streets of central Seoul last week.
The leaders of the parties _ the main opposition DPK chairwoman, People’s Party interim leader Park Jie-won and the minor opposition Justice Party Chairwoman Sim Sang-jeong agreed, Thursday, to take to the streets nationwide in a joint signature-collecting campaign demanding the resignation of President Park.
They also plan to file a petition with the prosecution to change Park’s status from a witness to a suspect in its ongoing investigation into the corruption scandal involving Park and Choi Soon-sil, and to cooperate in the separate probes by the National Assembly and an independent counsel.
The parties will also join forces with civic groups to oust the President.
Park is supposed to face questioning over her role in the scandal, in which Choi allegedly meddled in state affairs, despite having no official position, and coerced corporate donations for two non-profit foundations she controlled. But it has been controversial that she will be interviewed as a witness, not as a suspect. Because of her status, she is now resisting questioning although the prosecution wants a quick inquiry.