Park Ji-won is a writer for The Korea Times who has been covering a wide range of topics from Korea’s culture to its politics. An avid journalism enthusiast to the core, Ji-won brings a thoughtful and unique perspective to every topic she covers. On weekends, you'll often find her contemplating life’s purpose on a yoga mat — with a cup of quality tea in hand. A native Korean speaker by birth and fluent in English through her work, she went to college in Japan and is learning Chinese and French — hoping to add Polish, Russian and Thai to the mix.
Ex-LKP reform committee member blasts at leadership
Jun Won-tchack, former special committee member on party reform of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) who was fired from the position by its interim leader Kim Byong-joon, speaks during a press conference in Seoul, Wednesday. / Yonhap
By Park Ji-won
By Park Ji-won
A former member of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) reform committee, Jun Won-tchack, criticized the party's interim leader Kim Byong-joon, Wednesday, over a deepening factional war inside the party.
Jun claimed Kim is not capable of unifying the party, and by extension, conservative forces. Kim sacked the outspoken lawyer from the post last week following a feud over how to reform the biggest conservative party.
“The LKP is the only party where sectarian factions (based on political lineage) work, rather than political factions. In a party, a sectarian faction is like a private organization which should be removed,” Jun, a conservative lawyer who became a member as the party's special committee for organization reform said during a press conference, Wednesday. The special committee on party organization reform where Jun was before his removal, was an umbrella organization of the emergency reform committee led by Kim.
“It is too late for the party to reform its organization right before the election. I will continue to seek regaining the trust of conservatives in order to keep conservatives together. I don't want to go back to the LKP that refuses to seek innovation.”
His remarks came after he was fired from the position by the interim leader Kim, failing to narrow differences over the party overhaul plan with Kim, especially over the shake-up of the LKP members and lawmakers before the party's national convention.
Kim insisted on ending the process by the middle of December while Jun was determined to postpone it for one month.
Jun claimed that there are only 20 working days before the proposed deadline, making it impossible for “any kind of reshuffle,” by Dec. 15.
After a defeat in the June local elections, the LKP formed the special reform committee led by Ki aimed at resetting main political agendas for conservatives and reorganizing the party structure.
On Tuesday, senior lawmakers of the LKP conservative figures, who are known to be close to former President Park Geun-hye asked the interim leader to resign.