The lawmakers of the ruling Grand National Party debated heatedly yesterday as while attempting to hash out an overhaul of their party.

While some insisted on the GNP leadership resigning to show the public its desire for change, others remained skeptical about a mere restructuring of party leaders.

"I`m ready to step down from leadership if that`s our final decision," said two-term lawmaker Gong Sung-jin, a Supreme Council member. "However, it`s meaningless to only have the GNP chairman step down alone, taking full blame."



Rep. Joo Kwang-deok, who leads a group of junior lawmakers demanding a sweeping reform, said it is appropriate for the leadership to take responsibility for the party`s recent woes.

The lawmakers also clashed over whether the GNP should immediately organize a party congress or have an acting group for the time being.

"I believe the GNP must clean itself up first," said Joo during a workshop attended by most of the GNP legislators.

The difference originated from the fact that the faction led by former GNP Chairwoman Park Geun-hye is against convening a party congress earlier than scheduled. It is slated for next July.

"Some think we don`t know the truth but they`re wrong," said Rep. Lee Kyeong-jae, a four-term lawmaker close to Park. "Intra-party factions will only deepen and the vicious cycle will be repeated if it is pushed forward as it is now."

Calling an early party congress a mere "event," Rep. Lee Sung-hun, a two-term pro-Park lawmaker, said what is truly needed are reform measures fundamentally transforming the party.

Rep. Lee Jung-hyun, another pro-Park lawmaker, also said conducting a party congress in advance is in discussion because it is the easiest and most common method found in politics.

To meet the criticism triggered by pro-Park lawmakers, Rep. Lim Hae-kyu, who belongs to the faction close to President Lee Myung-bak, said the leadership should step down around August, after the parliamentary session, and the party must form an emergency countermeasure committee to run the party.

"The committee should be mainly composed of lawmakers who are not grouped with the majority pro-Lee faction, leading the GNP until the convening of the party congress," he said, adding that this would sincerity to minority factions.

Lim is among the group of seven first- and second-term lawmakers elected from constituencies in the Seoul metropolitan area that released a statement earlier this week, urging the GNP leadership to resign en masse and convene an early party congress.

However, Rep. Cho Moon-hwan, another lawmaker who signed the seven-member statement, stressed the need for an early party congress.

"I`m greatly worried about the results of the upcoming elections in case we fail to calm the minds of the public. We must restart from the rock-bottom," he said.

In the recent months, the GNP, which holds 170 out of 299 National Assembly seats, has been scrambling in search of measures to boost the party`s sinking support rate, especially since the April by-elections and the death of former president Roh Moo-hyun.



A number of reformists` groups within the party have been pushing the GNP leadership to take immediate and firm actions demonstrating full responsibility for the crisis.

In a related event, six-term lawmaker Lee Sang-deuk, also the elder brother of President Lee Myung-bak, vowed to stay out of political affairs on Wednesday.

By Cho Ji-hyun



(sharon@heraldm.com)