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| Rep. Kim Yong-tae of the ruling Saenuri Party announces at a press conference at the National Assembly, Tuesday, that he will not assume chairmanship of the party's reform committee. / Yonhap |
By Kim Hyo-jin
The ruling Saenuri Party is in turmoil after loyalists to President Park Geun-hye refused to participate in a meeting, Tuesday, intended to endorse the newly elected floor leader Chung Jin-suk and party members for an emergency planning committee chosen by him.
Chung, a critic of the pro-Park faction, claimed the loyalists were "ruining" the party to protect their own political interests without considering its future.
He said the responsibility for the party's defeat in the general election lies with the President's loyalists, who are obsessed with maintaining their grip on party affairs.
Chung earlier convened a meeting of regional office representatives seeking approval for his plan to launch the emergency committee, which would take over interim leadership of the party until new leaders are elected at a national convention scheduled for August.
Chung planned to confirm the list of 10 committee members, including himself as head and Rep. Kim Yong-tae as the head of a reform committee.
He also sought to change party rules to give full authority to Kim to reform the party. But all these plans were suspended as the meeting failed to reach a quorum.
The move put the brakes on Chung's drive to reform the party after it lost many seats in the election.
Following the failed endorsement, some lawmakers met urgently and decided to request Chung to convene an emergency meeting of lawmakers-elect to discuss the matter.
"We need to gather to seek a breakthrough in this dismal situation and to explain what happened in detail to the public and party members," Kim Sung-tae, a non-Park loyalist lawmaker, told reporters.
The party gained 122 seats in the April 13 general election, and was demoted to the second-largest party following the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea with 123 seats.
The party's chairman and members of the decision-making Supreme Council resigned after the defeat.
Park loyalists and Chung have traded barbs over how to form the emergency and reform committees.
Chung appointed lawmakers from the non-Park faction to the emergency committee, Sunday, in an apparent move to renew the image of the party, currently perceived as being controlled by loyalists to the President. He also extended to Rep. Kim, a notable critic of Park, the role of reforming the bewildered party as head of the reform committee.
In response, Park loyalists protested what they call Chung's lopsided appointments and threatened to boycott Tuesday's meeting.
Following this, Kim said at a press conference he would not take up the post.
"We have lost our last chance to beg for forgiveness from the public. Our last chance to reform the party has gone up in smoke," Kim said. "I will not be the committee head. From now on I will fight for democracy inside the party."
Chung also expressed anger at the collective move by Park's loyalists, saying, "The party has been crushed due to their suicide bombing tactic."
Chung Doo-un, a notable critic of Park, also raised his voice against the Park loyalists.
"It's merely a gang, not a party," he told reporters. "This is the first time in party history that they've acted without proper reasoning."
