Ruling Saenuri Party officials called Thursday for a complete overhaul of the formal election camp and leadership to jump-start Park Geun-hye's efforts to win this year's presidential race, after polls showed the hopeful trailing her rivals with 76 days to go before the December elections.
Rep. Yoo Seong-min, the vice chairman of the party's election camp, said the only way out of the current impasse is for everyone to resign except the presidential contender, so the entire election strategy can restart from scratch.
He said once everyone quit, Park should be given a free hand to pick her aides again.
Yoo, a progressive economist-turned-politician, who has not been shy to speak his mind to the 60-year-old candidate in the past, warned that unless drastic measures are taken, there is no guarantee Saenuri will win the Dec. 19 polls.
The remarks come right after Rep. Nam Kyung-pil, another party member who advocated sweeping changes, called for all Park loyalists within the party to step down from key posts.
Nam said in a radio talk show earlier in the day there is a pressing need to create a "power vacuum" so as to give Park the freedom to make timely decisions and reassess present conditions.
In addition to Yoo and Nam, other lawmakers have expressed concern something must be done to galvanize the party's election strategy and win over voters.
Park's popularity took a beating last month when she made controversial remarks about human rights abuses committed under her father's 18-year-old rule and a string of allegations arose about corruption among party members.
She formally apologized for former President Park Chung-hee's actions and Saenuri expelled members implicated in the scandals, but her approval rating as a whole has not recovered fully.
Most recent polls show her trailing independent contender, Ahn Cheol-soo, in a hypothetical one-on-one race, although the gap has decreased from late last month. She is also in a neck-and-neck race with the main opposition Democratic United Party's presidential candidate, Moon Jae-in. (Yonhap)