14 lawmakers quit Bareun Party to support LKP's Hong

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Sun, October 22, 2017 | 06:23

Politics

14 lawmakers quit Bareun Party to support LKP's Hong

Posted : 2017-05-02 17:15

Updated : 2017-05-03 15:36

Rep. Hong Moon-pyo of the Bareun Party, center, flanked by 12 fellow lawmakers, announce their defection to the Liberty Korea Party and support for LKP presidential candidate Hong Joon-pyo during a press conference at the National Assembly, Tuesday. / Korea Times photo by Oh Dae-geun

By Kim Hyo-jin

Fourteen lawmakers quit the Bareun Party, Tuesday, to rejoin the Liberty Korea Party (LKP) and support its presidential candidate Hong Joon-pyo.

Their sudden breakaway from the splinter conservative party may affect voter sentiment in the lead-up to the May 9 election, with Hong increasingly rallying support from conservatives to become a serious challenger to top liberal candidate Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).

"People are calling for us to unify forces to prevent a pro-North Korea, leftist politician from prevailing in the presidential election," Rep. Hong Moon-pyo, accompanied by 12 fellow lawmakers, said during a press conference, referring to Moon.

"We stand here to achieve the goal of launching a conservative government through a grand merger. We will do our best for the victory of the conservatives."

One of the 14 lawmakers, Jeong Woon-chun, was not present at the conference.

Their move will reduce the Bareun Party's seats from 32 to 18, stripping it of its status as a negotiating bloc at the National Assembly. The second-largest LKP's seats will increase to 108.

The defections come after in-house conflicts in the bareun Party over whether to continue the race with its presidential candidate Yoo Seong-min who has suffered a stagnant, low single-digit support rate.

The defectors had reportedly pressured Yoo to quit the race and join hands with Hong. The LKP candidate has recently gained momentum, vying for the runner-up position with Ahn Cheol-soo of the People's Party in opinion polls.

With the members' uneasiness growing as the election day approaches, party leaders suggested Monday that Yoo consider fielding a single candidate with Hong. Yoo, however, rejected the call and reaffirmed his position to run in the race without compromise.

"I don't think the existing old-fashioned, corrupt and fake conservatives can change the country, and rather believe conservative politics will collapse," Yoo told reporters following a conference with fellow lawmakers.

"I'm practicing politics in the Bareun Party to create hope for new conservatives and committing to run in the presidential race is part of this process."

About the politicians abandoning his party, he said, "I hoped to take this tough path with them but I still understand they had to make such a decision."

Despite Yoo's resolve, the party has a tough road ahead as more defections are expected. Party officials said three to four more lawmakers could follow suit in the coming days.

The party leaders, Rep. Kim Moo-sung, Choung Byoung-gug and Joo Ho-young, abstained from quitting the party, but stepped back from supporting Yoo's campaign.

The LKP has expectations that the lawmakers' return will be a boost for Hong to draw more conservative votes.
One party official said, "Internal surveys found that Hong's support rate has already surpassed Ahn's even though polls show they are neck-and-neck. Our goal is now to overtake Moon."

In a show of confidence, Hong wrote on Facebook later in the day, "Putting a single candidate in the conservative bloc has already been realized."

Political observers were also in line with the party's positive expectations. "Conservative voters will now have the assurance that Hong is a representative candidate of the conservative bloc. They could give second thoughts about supporting Ahn as the lesser evil," senior political analyst Hwang Tae-soon said.

Mindful of the changing landscape and possible adverse effects, Ahn noted on Facebook, "I'm concerned it will propel the simple rivalry between two big parties who have been in a hostile yet symbiotic relationship."

hyojinkim@ktimes.com