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| Rep. Yoo Seong-min of the ruling Saenuri Party, a prominent member of a party faction opposing President Park Geun-hye, speaks to reporters after a meeting with the party's floor leader Rep. Chung Jin-suk at the National Assembly, Friday. The faction asked her to specify by Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. exactly when she will resign, or they will join forces with opposition parties to impeach her. / Yonhap |
By Yi Whan-woo
Saenuri Party lawmakers aligned against President Park Geun-hye called on her, Friday, to specify by Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. when she will resign, in what appeared to be a tricky bargain over her fate.
The anti-Park faction threatened to join forces with the opposition bloc to vote for her impeachment on Dec. 9 if Park fails to meet the deadline. Cheong Wa Dae said Park would hold meetings with Saenuri Party lawmakers, including the rival faction, next week to discuss how to resolve the chaos over her presidency.
The "ultimatum" came amid rampant speculation that the National Assembly was entrapped by Park's "stall tactics" to avoid impeachment by creating a rift among parties and factions.
Defying the opposition's call to cooperate on an impeachment motion, members of the rival faction and Park loyalists unanimously decided on Thursday to promote her "orderly" resignation.
The ruling party said it would help the President step down in April while rescheduling the presidential election from December to June. Park's single five-year presidential term was initially due to end in February 2018.
The anti-Park faction members also claim that bipartisan talks by Dec. 7 should be a precondition for them to endorse an impeachment motion when it is put to a vote on Dec. 9. It is the last day of this year's regular parliamentary session.
They pointed out that Park offered on Tuesday to leave it to the National Assembly to decide her fate through bipartisan discussion, which the opposition strongly opposed and refused to accept.
Cheong Wa Dae renewed Park's offer, Friday.
The three opposition parties — Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), the People's Party and Justice Party — made a consensus to put the impeachment motion to a vote on Dec. 9, although their initial plan to do so today failed.
"The credibility of the President's offer has been called into question because she did not specify the exact time for her resignation," said Rep. Hwang Young-cheul, a spokesman for the anti-Park factions.
"Her message is totally not in accordance with the people's wishes. We therefore ask the President to announce a specific timeline for her resignation centering on April 30 and to ensure she will be prepared to relinquish power."
Rep. Yoo Seong-min, a central figure in the anti-Park factions, echoed a similar view, saying "There has been a misunderstanding as if the Saenuri party as a whole is going against impeachment.
"The President must speak for herself that she will quit by April at the latest and will hand power to the prime minister to help negotiations among the rival parties begin.
"She also must show in action that she has no intention to exercise her power to convince the people."
Yoo reaffirmed that the non-mainstreamers would wait until Dec. 7 for possible bipartisan talks to and would vote for impeachment on Dec. 9 if this fails.
Saenuri Party floor leader Rep. Chung Jin-suk said he would push for the National Assembly to accept the party's roadmap for the President's resignation in April. He also said all Saenuri lawmakers should quit if the opposition accepts such plan, but Park refuses to step down.
Cheong Wa Dae said the President remains unchanged in her proposal that the parliament should decide her term.
"The President tossed the ball to the National Assembly and she will follow if the rival parties come up with details concerning her offer," presidential spokesman Jung Youn-kuk said Friday.
Some Cheong Wa Dae officials said Park may meet Saenuri Party lawmakers beginning this weekend and urge them to talk with the opposition to lay the groundwork for her resignation.
The officials said Park respects the Saenuri Party's decision over curtailing her presidency.
"We may meet both mainstreamers and non-mainstreamers and listen to them, while conveying her thoughts," an official said. "She will not just sit and do nothing considering the urgent nature of the matter."
DPK Chairwoman Choo Mi-ae criticized the Saenuri Party's plan to shorten Park's term, saying, "The anti-Park factions were entrapped by Park's scheme.
"The ultimate goal of the Saenuri Party's plan is to pardon the President while helping the ruling party retain power in the next government.
"Cheong Wa Dae is trying to control the party's non-mainstreamers and stir up a division among the opposition. In that regard, impeachment will be the only way to overcome this political crisis."
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