Feud deepens as Saenuri chief cancels schedule

In a deepening feud, ruling Saenuri Party Chairman Kim Moo-sung on Thursday cancelled all engagements in what is looking like a protest against President Park Geun-hye and her followers.

Kim did not attend the party’s Supreme Council meeting or the ceremony to mark Armed Forces Day.

Pro-Park legislators lashed out at Kim after he reached a deal with Moon Jae-in, leader of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, over the Chuseok holidays to overhaul the candidate nomination system for the 2016 general elections. Kim and Moon agreed to adopt a bottom-up system based on a mobile phone survey.

But the pro-Park faction claimed Kim’s deal with Moon was politically motivated to weaken their influence on party affairs and prevent the President from intervening in selecting candidates.

Despite his chairmanship, Kim’s relationship with the President has been rocky. When the President was visiting New York last month, she was often flanked by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, again stirring rumors the President has her eyes on Ban to be the ruling party’s presidential candidate for the 2017 election.