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Duel looms between pro-Park faction, Hong

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  • Published Jun 6, 2017 5:10 pm KST
  • Updated Jun 6, 2017 5:10 pm KST

By Choi Ha-young

Hong Joon-pyo

Yet another factional dispute is looming in the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) following former presidential candidate Hong Joon-pyo’s bid for party leadership and the Park Geun-hye loyalist faction’s opposition to it.

Hong, who left for the U.S. after his election loss, returned home Sunday. He virtually threw his hat in the ring to become the chairman of the conservative party. “I will be with the citizens to protect the value of freedom in Korea,” he posted on Facebook Monday.

But some LKP lawmakers who support former President Park are fiercely reacting to his move. Even though Hong had joined hands with them during the presidential election, the former South Gyeongsang Province governor burned his bridges with them afterward, saying they were unseen like “cockroaches” when Park was impeached.

“If Hong is elected, we will be bullied in public, backed by only 3 to 4 percent of the people,” Hong Moon-jong, a four-term LKP lawmaker, said in a radio interview Monday. “Among the already small number of supporters, if he excludes the supporters of the pro-Park faction which he calls cockroaches, would he serve for 1 percent of the people?”

Hong Moon-jong emphasized that the main opposition should embrace the people rather than exclude certain groups.

From the pro-Park faction, Rep. Won Yoo-chul hinted at his bid for the chairmanship. The party convention to elect its new leader and members of the decision-making Supreme Council is slated for July 3.

After the May 9 poll, the conservative party’s support rate has hovered around 12 percent, way below the 24.03 percent which Hong Joon-pyo earned in the election. In sharp contrast, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea is enjoying its highest ever popularity with a 54.9 percent approval rating according to Realmeter.

“Amid the dog-eat-dog disputes among the LKP members themselves, conservative citizens don’t care much who clinches the party leadership,” political analyst Hwang Tae-soon told The Korea Times.

“While President Moon Jae-in is strongly pursuing his reform drive, the LKP looks quite absurd. As the largest opposition party, it should regain public support by taking a reasonable stance in preparation for Moon’s possible missteps, rather than being obstinate.”