Three lawmakers of the minor opposition Unified Progressive Party (UPP) said Thursday they are leaving the party to build a new progressive party for the people as a stream of defections picked up pace due to factional infighting.
The defections by Reps. Sim Sang-jung, Roh Hoe-chan and Kang Dong-won come less than a week after four other UPP lawmakers quit the embattled party and party chief Kang Ki-kab stepped down to take responsibility for the crisis.
"We will not collapse by colluding with the worn order and hegemony within the party," the three lawmakers said during a joint news conference at the National Assembly. "The numerous party members and people who have trusted us and come with us thus far are commanding (us to take on) a new challenge."
The UPP has been caught in months of factional infighting over an allegedly rigged primary race ahead of April's parliamentary elections.
The smaller, reformist faction has demanded the expulsion of two lawmakers belonging to the mainstream faction, who are accused of involvement in the voting scandal. The larger faction has refused, while stirring further controversy over its alleged espousal of North Korea's guiding "juche" philosophy of self-reliance. (Yonhap)