By Kim Hyo-jin
The leadership of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is in a heated debate over whether to demand the resignation of President Park Geun-hye, a move pushed by hard-line party members, sources said Tuesday.
The party, led by Rep. Choo Mi-ae, has taken a cautious approach to demanding Park’s resignation, although Choo said Park has already lost the ability to govern the nation.
After Park indicated that she will hand over control of the Cabinet to a prime minister recommended by the National Assembly, Tuesday, differences within the party over how to deal with Park and the Choi Soon-sil scandal are likely to deepen.
Some lawmakers and potential presidential candidates from the party are urging the leadership to shift to a hard-line stance, stressing the need to attune the party’s voice with the worsened public sentiment.
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung pushed for such a move in a meeting with Choo earlier in the day. Choo met with the party’s main presidential candidate hopefuls to discuss how to cope with the fallout from the scandal gripping the country.
“What the public wants is Park’s immediate resignation and to start rebuilding the country,” Mayor Park said. “The party should accept their urgent call.”
Echoing his view, Lee noted, “Though we will respect the party’s final decision, I suggest that we embark on the procedure of impeachment, our constitutional right, as a last resort.”
On Monday, 47 DPK lawmakers urged the President to back away from state management and hand over her full authority to a new prime minister recommended by the National Assembly, virtually claiming her resignation.
Of them, 22 lawmakers held a rally in front of Cheong Wa Dae, criticizing Park for holding onto power amid growing public outcry. “Park should take seriously the significance of the massive rally last weekend and her record-low approval rating,” they said in a statement. “She should not seek to evade responsibility with some stopgap measures.”
However, the party leadership remained lukewarm on the call for her resignation. It instead actively called on the ruling party to cooperate in appointing an independent counsel and on Park to accept nomination of a new prime minister recommended by the Assembly and stay away from managing state affairs.
During the meeting, former party leader Moon jae-in, backed Choo, saying, “Though I respect public opinion, we still need to seek a political solution here.”
Meanwhile, in an apparent effort to defuse tensions, Rep. Youn Kwan-suk, the party’s chief spokesman, said, “The party has not entirely excluded the resignation card.”
The intra-party clash is expected to be escalated following Park’s withdrawal of Kim Byong-joon’s nomination for prime minister, Tuesday.
Park said she will seek to nominate a new prime minister recommended by rival parties, effectively withdrawing her designation of Kim in a brief meeting with National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun.
Rep. Kim Boo-kyun, another potential presidential candidate, viewed the move positively, claiming the party should engage in negotiations with the ruling party to put forward a new figure as soon as possible.
However, Mayor Lee argued the party should demand the President’s resignation regardless of the withdrawal of the prime minister-designate.
The party leadership only slammed the President for not fully clarifying the scope of authority to be given to a new prime minister.
“Park failed to mention if the new prime minister can form a Cabinet and if she will stay away from managing state affairs,” DPK floor leader Rep. Woo Sang-ho told reporters.
Pundits say the main opposition faces a dilemma due to concerns about the aftermath of Park's resignation.
“If Park actually steps down, the presidential election should be held within 60 days according to the law. The opposition leadership is worried about the short amount of preparation time,” said Shin Yul, a politics professor at Myongji University.