By Jun Ji-hye
Seventeen lawmakers of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), the majority of which have constituencies in the Honam region, have joined hands to stand against party Chairman Rep. Moon Jae-in.
The move is based on their perception that it will be hard to win seats in the general election in April next year under his leadership.
Honam refers to the nation’s southwestern region including Gwangju and North and South Jeolla Provinces, which have been the traditional home turf for liberal politics.
The lawmakers had a meeting in Gwangju, Saturday, arranged by NPAD floor leader Lee Jong-kul.
The meeting drew keen attention amid growing speculation that the party’s non-mainstream members who do not follow the legacy of the late President Roh Moo-hyun will leave the NPAD to launch a new political party.
The participants have mostly held negative views about Moon’s leadership especially after an NPAD candidate was beaten by the opposition-turned-independent Chun Jung-bae in the Seogu district of Gwangju in an April 29 by-election. Chun’s landslide victory was widely viewed as evidence of the region’s discontent with the party’s current power structure.
Some participants argue that Moon, who previously served as chief of staff during the late Roh’s government, should step down from the chairmanship, and the party should set up an emergency planning committee to prepare for the next general election.
But at the end of the meeting, they agreed to wait and review any plans for innovation produced by the party’s reform committee next month before taking any action as a group.
Rep. Park Hae-ja told reporters, “The participants agreed on the fact that Moon’s leadership is reaching a crisis. However, there were many opinions that some decisions should be made after the reform committee’s innovation plans come out.”
The committee led by former education superintendent Kim Sang-gon was set up to heal the largest opposition party’s factional feud in the aftermath of a crushing defeat in the April by-elections.
Chairman Moon entrusted Kim with full powers to overhaul the party, but the committee itself has been a cause of another intraparty conflict with its suggestions of assessing the performance of elected party members and increasing the number of parliamentary seats.
Rep. Kim Dong-cheol, another participant of the meeting, told reporters, “Moon needs to make a decision to sacrifice himself. But we agreed to wait for him rather than pressuring him.”
The participants noted that three-term lawmaker Park Joo-sun called for leaving the NPAD and establishing a new political party. But they added that others argued the time is not yet ripe for setting up a new party, and it is better to observe how public sentiment changes next month.
Rep. Park Young-sun, former floor leader of the main opposition party, also attended the meeting during a visit to Gwangju to attend a book signing event.
“I am aware that many citizens are hoping for a new party, but I understand it is the wish for the NPAD to be newly born as a stronger opposition party,” she told reporters.
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