The Korea Confederation of Trade Unions called for stern action against the “mainstream” members of the Unified Progressive Party involved in alleged election fraud and violence against party leaders.

The umbrella trade union group is the largest supporter for the leftist minority party.

During its central committee meeting, the group called for drastic reform, including the purge of “anti-democratic” elements, of the party as a condition to maintain their alliance.

“The UPP chief and KCTU leader was physically assaulted by party members. It is an intolerable negation of democracy,” KCTU chairman Kim Young-hoon said in the meeting, referring Cho Joon-ho, who resigned from the party leadership on Saturday.

But he asked the committee members not to dump relations with the party, describing it a source of hope for progressives.

The labor group was seen as poised to back down from it previous position to recant its support for the party in the wake of the scandal.

Earlier in the day, Kang Ki-kab, the party’s emergency leadership council chief, blasted the mainstreamers for forming a separate decision-making body.

He pledged to persuade the party’s controversial proportional representatives to withdraw in an attempt to pacify the umbrella labor union, which had appeared ready to withdraw its support.

“The establishment of another emergency committee will directly lead to the breakup of the party,” said Kang in the panel meeting.

“I will once again try to communicate with Representative-elects Lee Seog-gi and Kim Jae-yeon within the day and ask them to face the decision of the party and of the people.”

The party’s central committee, before disbanding and transferring power to the emergency panel, demanded that all disputed proportional representative step down but the two have refused to do so.

Lee claimed Thursday in a radio interview that he was a victim of political schemes to destroy left-wing unity.

Lee, too, sent a letter to former co-chair Rhyu Si-min, complaining of injustice.

“I will do all things possible, beg them (to step down) if necessary, to straighten out the situations,” said Kang.

The former Democratic Labor Party chief also showed humility before Kim of the KCTU.

“The union’s participation is crucial to achieve progressive democracy,” he said Wednesday, requesting that the union to join the panel.

The influential labor group held its central committee meeting Thursday to offer a final vote on whether or not to defect from the leftist party.

While Kang made desperate moves to revive the party from its deepening crisis, former DLP leaders expressed their support for his panel, despite their ties with the resisting mainstreamers and their chief Lee Jung-hee.

“The central committee’s decision (that the proportional representatives should step down) was the minimum measure to be taken by a political party,” said Kwon Young-ghil, Moon Sung-hyun and Chun Young-se in a joint statement Thursday.

The party should now cooperate with the emergency panel to overcome its controversies, they said, blaming the dissenters’ move to create an independent decision-making body.

The three ex-chiefs held amicable ties with Lee in the former DLP but did not take part in her recent struggle to deny the vote-rigging allegations.

The UPP’s South Chungcheong and Jeju branches also issued a statement backing Kang’s committee.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)