Ruling party appoints 10 members to emergency committee ahead of general elections

People Power Party's chief spokesperson Rep. Park Jung-ha announces members of its emergency committee, Seoul, Dec. 28. Yonhap

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) on Thursday appointed ten members to its emergency committee charged with leading the party into April's general elections.

The nominees will be confirmed at a national committee meeting Friday after which Han Dong-hoon, the committee chairman, will explain the reason behind his selections, the PPP's chief spokesperson, Rep. Park Jung-ha, said in a press conference.

The PPP decided to launch the emergency committee and bring in Han to head it amid a sense of urgency that without dramatic reform efforts, it is doomed to fail in the April 10 elections, as seen in its crushing defeat in October's local by-election.

Eight committee members were picked by Han, while the two others were ex officio members: the party's floor leader Rep. Yun Jae-ok and chief policymaker Rep. Yu Eui-dong.

Han's emergency committee has younger members and more women compared with the previous leadership.

Most of the members are in their 40s and 50s, with the youngest being Yoon Do-hyun, a 21-year-old university student who heads a nonprofit organization for orphans.

Three are women, while all are political novices, except for Rep. Kim Yae-ji, a disabled pianist who became a lawmaker as a proportional representative.

Their backgrounds range from licensed specialists, such as lawyers, accountants and doctors, to a child care platform startup CEO and the head of a political organization seeking change in the Honam region, a traditional stronghold of the liberal bloc. (Yonhap)