Saenuri not to evict Park

By Jun Ji-hye

In Myung-jin, interim leader of the ruling Saenuri Party, is facing criticism for putting off a decision to take disciplinary action against scandal-ridden President Park Geun-hye until her impeachment trial in the Constitutional Court is completed.

In said the decision was made for party unity, but opposition parties and even some members from his own party claimed the governing party lacks the will to change amid a crisis caused by the high-profile corruption and influence-peddling scandal, which led to Park’s impeachment last month.

When announcing measures to renovate the party, Sunday, In said the procedure of expelling key Park loyalists has been finalized, citing that the ethics committee suspended membership of Reps. Suh Chung-won and Choi kyoung-hwan for three years, and Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun for one year.

In said it was improper to discipline Park, saying “Unlike the three figures, Park has no influence in the party.”

On Monday, In also made it clear the party’s measures to remove the pro-Park figures was completed, saying, “There are still figures left who need to take responsibility. I did not take disciplinary measures against them not because they were not guilty, but because some measures were also needed for party unity. I expect them to take time for self-examination and take responsibility voluntarily.”

But Kim Sung-eun, an emergency planning committee member, said In’s decision provoked a great deal of criticism, urging the interim leader to show the public the party’s willingness to make a clean breast of past wrongdoings.

Kim also called on Park to voluntarily quit the party for “the unity of healthy conservatives.”

Rep. Choo Mi-ae, the chairwoman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, said, “In was deceiving the people when he was talking about the renovation of the party but not talking about disciplinary measures against Park.”

Meanwhile, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon held a meeting, also on Monday, with nine first-term lawmakers of the Saenuri Party. According to the participants, the lawmakers asked Ban to become the pivotal figure to unify conservative figures, and Ban responded positively.

Some observers speculated that the meeting may cause another exodus of Saenuri Party lawmakers, but the participants tried to remove the over-interpretation of the meeting, saying they just discussed various pending issues including measures to raise Ban’s approval ratings.