LKP keeps silent over former leader's return

Hong Joon-pyo, center, former leader of main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), leaves the LKP headquarters, Seoul, June 14, file photo, after announcing his resignation as the LKP leader after a large defeat in June local elections. / Korea Times file

By Park Ji-won

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) is keeping silent about the outspoken former leader Hong Joon-pyo’s pledge to resume political activities.

“Korea is a free country, and he can do anything he wants to. He didn’t mention running for party leader and so. I have nothing to comment on,” Kim Byoung-joon, LKP’s interim leader, said Tuesday.

Apart from Rep. Hong Moon-pyo, who served as secretary general of the LKP under Hong Joon-pyo’s leadership, LKP lawmakers are refraining from commenting on his resurgence, adopting a wait-and-see attitude. Hong Moon-pyo said “Hong Joon-pyo wants to work for the country, and I respect his decision.”

The reactions came after Hong Joon-pyo, a former presidential candidate, pledged to resume political activities Tuesday after a five-month hiatus. He left the political scene in June to take responsibility for the party’s defeat in local elections.

Since then, the LKP has been looking for a new platform by forming an emergency committee on party reform led by Kim Byoung-joon, former presidential policy chief for the Roh Moo-hyun administration. However, Kim’s leadership has continued to face challenges, clashing with senior LKP lawmakers and failing to come up with concrete measures to rebuild the troubled party.

Hong made it official on Facebook posting, “I said I would return when people started to believe that Hong was right. I would say I am returning to the real political scene because I never left.”

He added that he will run his own YouTube channel and form a political forum where intellectuals can discuss the country’s philosophy.

The political heavyweight was well known for his biting remarks against the government and ruling party, drawing public attention whenever he said something.

Meanwhile, other parties welcomed Hong’s return with sarcastic comments implying his comeback will benefit them.

The minor Justice Party spokesman Choi Suk said, “We hoped that he would make the extinction of the conservatives come true. Party for Democracy and Peace spokesman Kim Jung-hyun said “His return will not help the party’s reform. The LKP added a headache.”Minor opposition Bareunmirae vice spokesman Kim Ik-hwan said, “I can expect that the government and ruling party are getting excited about Hong’s political return.”

Critics say Hong’s re-entry is a strategic move to take back control of the conservative party.

“If he doesn’t return to the party now, it will be hard for him to play a central role in forming his political base as LKP members are getting into the power game now before the end of the emergency body,” said Park Sang-chul, a politics professor at Kyonggi University.

“People who are against Hong Joon-pyo, such as former President Park Geun-hye’s supporters, don’t want him back. They could clash with people for Rep. Kim Moo-sung. LKP members will wait and see what happens.”

“Kim Byoung-joon’s leadership was hit by the process of firing one of its reform body members, Jun Won-tchack. After the decision, party members are starting to move on their own,” said Professor Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University.