By Kim Hyo-jin
An increasing number of ruling Saenuri Party lawmakers are urging President Park Geun-hye to leave the party, which is reeling from the backlash to an influence-peddling scandal involving her long-time confidant Choi Soon-sil.
Park is also under growing pressure to reshuffle her Cabinet and her secretariat to hold them responsible for the snowballing scandal.
The ruling party was thrown into chaos following media reports that presidential speeches were edited by Choi, who has no official government position. She also allegedly intervened in the appointment of key officials.
Lawmakers who are not affiliated with Park said that her apology, Tuesday, fell short of clarifying the suspicions, calling on her to leave the party as part of efforts to deal with the situation.
They also called on the party leadership to resign to take responsibility of failing to support the President in state management.
"Park should drop her party membership and distance herself from party politics," Rep. Na Kyung-won, former chairwoman of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a radio interview. "This is now inevitable."
She added an independent counsel and a full-scale reshuffle of the Cabinet and presidential secretariat should follow.
Kim Yong-tae, another anti-Park lawmaker, echoed a similar view, saying Park leaving the party was a "basic duty" in the current situation.
"An independent counsel, if appointed, must conduct an exhaustive investigation into the scandal. Her membership of the ruling party could be a burden during this," he said.
Joining in the criticism of Park, Gyeonggi Governor Nam Kyung-pil, a potential ruling party presidential candidate, claimed that Chairman Lee Jung-hyun should hand over his leadership to an emergency committee.
"The country needs newer leaders. We should make form an emergency committee to play this role as soon as possible," he said in a Facebook post.
Rep. Lee Jong-ku agreed, accusing the pro-Park leadership of clouding the President's judgment with a lack of conservative criticism.
Chairman Lee, however, refused to step aside, saying that he would lead the party in dealing with the situation.
"I will lead the party until the situation is settled while staying at the party's headquarters," Lee said in a press conference held after an emergency meeting of the party's senior members.
He said that they had decided to request the President to conduct a full overhaul of the presidential office, a Cabinet reshuffle and a thorough investigation into the scandal.
This was delivered officially to Kim Jae-won, the senior presidential secretary for political affairs, Lee said.
The call for the President to drop her party membership is nothing new, according to political commentators.
Since 1987, no president has maintained their party membership until the end of their term except the previous President Lee Myung-bak. They were forced to leave the party as they entered into a lame duck status following ethical lapses or corruption scandals.
"Parties inevitably worry that issues with the incumbent president could damage the image of its next presidential candidate," said Choi Chang-ryol, a politics professor at Yongin University. "In the face of Park's record-low approval rating, the ruling party is seeking to widen its distance from her."
An increasing number of ruling Saenuri Party lawmakers are urging President Park Geun-hye to leave the party, which is reeling from the backlash to an influence-peddling scandal involving her long-time confidant Choi Soon-sil.
Park is also under growing pressure to reshuffle her Cabinet and her secretariat to hold them responsible for the snowballing scandal.
The ruling party was thrown into chaos following media reports that presidential speeches were edited by Choi, who has no official government position. She also allegedly intervened in the appointment of key officials.
Lawmakers who are not affiliated with Park said that her apology, Tuesday, fell short of clarifying the suspicions, calling on her to leave the party as part of efforts to deal with the situation.
They also called on the party leadership to resign to take responsibility of failing to support the President in state management.
"Park should drop her party membership and distance herself from party politics," Rep. Na Kyung-won, former chairwoman of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a radio interview. "This is now inevitable."
She added an independent counsel and a full-scale reshuffle of the Cabinet and presidential secretariat should follow.
Kim Yong-tae, another anti-Park lawmaker, echoed a similar view, saying Park leaving the party was a "basic duty" in the current situation.
"An independent counsel, if appointed, must conduct an exhaustive investigation into the scandal. Her membership of the ruling party could be a burden during this," he said.
Joining in the criticism of Park, Gyeonggi Governor Nam Kyung-pil, a potential ruling party presidential candidate, claimed that Chairman Lee Jung-hyun should hand over his leadership to an emergency committee.
"The country needs newer leaders. We should make form an emergency committee to play this role as soon as possible," he said in a Facebook post.
Rep. Lee Jong-ku agreed, accusing the pro-Park leadership of clouding the President's judgment with a lack of conservative criticism.
Chairman Lee, however, refused to step aside, saying that he would lead the party in dealing with the situation.
"I will lead the party until the situation is settled while staying at the party's headquarters," Lee said in a press conference held after an emergency meeting of the party's senior members.
He said that they had decided to request the President to conduct a full overhaul of the presidential office, a Cabinet reshuffle and a thorough investigation into the scandal.
This was delivered officially to Kim Jae-won, the senior presidential secretary for political affairs, Lee said.
The call for the President to drop her party membership is nothing new, according to political commentators.
Since 1987, no president has maintained their party membership until the end of their term except the previous President Lee Myung-bak. They were forced to leave the party as they entered into a lame duck status following ethical lapses or corruption scandals.
"Parties inevitably worry that issues with the incumbent president could damage the image of its next presidential candidate," said Choi Chang-ryol, a politics professor at Yongin University. "In the face of Park's record-low approval rating, the ruling party is seeking to widen its distance from her."
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