Anti-Park Saenuri faction considering new party

Rep. Suh Chung-won, the de-facto leader of a Saenuri Party faction that supports President Park Geun-hye, criticizes those aligned against Park who helped impeach the scandal-ridden leader, in a meeting of faction members at the National Assembly, Tuesday. / Yonhap

‘Park loyalists ruining ruling party’

By Kim Hyo-jin

A power struggle inside the ruling Saenuri Party intensified Tuesday as lawmakers aligned against President Park Geun-hye continued their offensive against Park loyalists leading the party.

Former Chairman Kim Moo-sung, who is leading the Park dissenters, denounced the pro-Park lawmakers for refusing to take responsibility for the corruption scandal involving the President, saying they were her “slaves,” not “political partners.”

“They are still advocating the President, a criminal suspect, calling us betrayers for having supported her impeachment,” Kim said in a press conference. “They even forgot the basics of politics that the Constitution and the public are superior to the President. They are ruining our party.”

Criticizing the pro-Park leadership for having no will to reform, Kim expressed his intention to leave the party and create a new one in an attempt to salvage the conservative bloc.

“It is high time to set up a new conservative party which the public, concerned about the economy and security, can depend on,” he said.

“We can’t let irresponsible leftists govern the country but the Saenuri Party led by Park loyalists can’t stop them. No people will believe them whatever they do to renew the party’s image. New conservatives should step up to rebuild the country jointly with centrists.”

The remarks came amid growing tension between the rival factions demanding each other leave the party in the fallout from Park’s impeachment.

They have been at loggerheads over how to reform the party hit hard by the corruption scandal involving the impeached Park.

The impeachment motion was passed by 234 votes to 56 with overwhelming support in the 300-member Assembly, Friday.

The anti-Park faction, composed of some 40 lawmakers, was key to the passage given that 172 opposition and independent lawmakers voted for the motion unanimously.

This drew a severe backlash from loyalists who had encouraged Park to resign voluntarily in April for an orderly transition of power.

They called Park dissenters “betrayers,” saying they will expel Kim and former floor leader Yoo Seong-min, leaders of the anti-Park faction, from the party.

“They should not be left in the party as they acted against its interests. We are planning to push Kim and Yoo out of the party,” a Park loyalist said. “The leadership is seeking to put more Park loyalists on the party’s ethics committee to make this happen.”

The pro-Park members, reeling from the result of the impeachment vote, are beginning to regroup. They officially launched an intra-party alliance of about 50 Park loyalists.

It will be co-chaired by three senior politicians — former deputy parliamentary speaker Rep. Jeong Kab-yoon, six-term lawmaker Rhee In-je and North Gyeongsang Governor Kim Kwan-yong.

In the face of rising pressure from the rival faction, the Park dissenters also realigned themselves.

They disbanded their ad-hoc emergency situation committee and vowed to set up a new organization.

Rep. Hwang Young-cheul, a spokesman of the anti-Park group, said, “We will establish a bigger group and strive to reform the party.”

Even though Kim hinted at the possible establishment of a new conservative party, he is expected to face challenges in gathering lawmakers to follow him.

Rumors have circulated in the party that Kim is planning to put Yoo forward as the leader of the new party. However, Yoo said Tuesday that he is not considering leaving for the moment, saying he wanted to focus on normalizing the Saenuri Party.