By Kang Seung-woo
President Park Geun-hye and her followers’ push to oust Saenuri Party floor leader Yoo Seong-min may have hit a wall due to his stiff resistance.
Worse, Yoo’s opponents have no definitive plan B either, other than the voluntary resignation by Yoo, who has shown no sign of surrendering any time soon. A number of non-mainstream members meanwhile have come forward to support the beleaguered floor leader.
After President Park slammed Yoo, Thursday, for “betraying her,” while vetoing a bipartisan revision bill for the National Assembly Law, lawmakers loyal to the President went all-out in trying to force him to step down.
Some attempted to convene a general meeting in order to press Yoo into quitting, which was strongly opposed by Saenuri Party Chairman Kim Moo-sung.
In addition, should Yoo receive greater support from lawmakers, President Park and the pro-Park factions will suffer a heavy blow.
“It does not look easy to force Yoo out because Cheong Wa Dae and the pro-Park faction have few options,” said Cho Jin-man, a political science professor at Duksung Women’s University.
“They did what they could officially do to oust Yoo from the post. They may use a behind-the-scenes route, but that is not easy either, given the current ties between Cheong Wa Dae and the party.”
Should the row between Cheong Wa Dae and Yoo be prolonged — with the floor leader continuously deflecting the pressure — the presidential office may be placed in an uncomfortable position in taking responsibility for a deadlock in state affairs.
Several pro-Park members of the party’s Supreme Council, including Reps. Suh Chung-won, Lee Jung-hyun and Kim Tae-ho, were initially expected to resign from their posts to exert pressure on Yoo, but this is now unlikely because they may face criticism for breaking up the ruling side.
In addition, their resignation may lead non-mainstreamers to seize a tighter grip on the party, which would be the worst case scenario for President Park and her followers.
On Wednesday, Yoo once again made it clear that he would not step down, carrying out his scheduled party affairs.
“No change in the situation,” he told reporters.
Yoo may maintain such a position on the back of lawmakers and public opinion opposing his resignation.
“It does not make sense that Supreme Council members would try to force Yoo to step down. He should not quit,” Rep. Lee Jae-oh said during a party meeting.
“The party needs to be independent from Cheong Wa Dae and Yoo’s resignation is not desirable to the presidential office as well as the party.”
He added that it is not right for pro-Park lawmakers to unilaterally deliver the presidential office’s opinion to the party.
Rep. Lee Byung-suk said, “Although we need to respect the President’s veto, lawmakers’ opinions about Yoo’s resignation need to be respected, as well.”
He also said that Yoo was elected by party members and he should decide his fate.
According to a public opinion poll by CBS No-Cut News on Monday, which interviewed 1,000 respondents Monday, 53.8 percent said that Yoo should not step down, compared with 38.4 percent who said he should.
In addition, 58.5 percent disagreed with the pro-Park lawmakers’ calls for Yoo’s resignation for “betraying her,” with only 32.9 percent supporting them.