Officials of the main opposition party on Tuesday frantically attempted to dissuade the party’s interim chairwoman Rep. Park Young-sun from leaving the party, amid its worst political crisis since its founding in March.

Park announced plans to step down from her post and exit the party on Sunday, after in-house hard-liners demanded she take responsibility for its falling public ratings and the failed talks with the governing Saenuri Party over the special Sewol bill.

But moderate officials of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy have asked Park to abstain from crossing the line of no return, saying her decampment would exacerbate an already worsening crisis.

“This is not the time to start thinking about next year’s party convention,” former lawmaker Kim Boo-kyum told media. “Senior lawmakers must meet Park and deter her from leaving the party.”

Analysts have suspected that those members of the NPAD’s hardline faction criticizing Park, are attempting to shake the party leadership before its convention sometime early next year. By doing so, experts say, hard-liners increase the likelihood of winning the party leadership.

Park has been avoiding the public eye since Sunday, while the NPAD has in effect failed to function as a political party.

Earlier Tuesday, National Assembly speaker Rep. Chung Ui-hwa announced plans through a spokesman to forge ahead with parliamentary affairs with or without the NPAD, saying “everything has its limits.”

“The National Assembly will begin committee meetings on Wednesday and proceed with a full parliamentary meeting next Friday.”

The NPAD’s public rating is barely keeping afloat, standing at 22.8 percent according to a Realmeter public poll conducted last week. The same survey showed the ruling party holding a firm lead with a 45.8 percent rating.

“Park’s actions have been childish,” Yang Seung-ham, a professor of Korean politics told The Korea Herald on Monday. “Where is she going to go if she leaves the party? To the Saenuri Party?”

Rumors that Park’s exit from the NPAD could lead to an exodus of Park supporters and the formation of a third party have surfaced. Experts downplayed the gesture.

“Forming a new party is a complicated and time-consuming matter,” said Choi Young-jin, professor of Korean politics at Chung-ang University.

“No matter how bad the NPAD’s inner conflict gets, NPAD officials probably already know that keeping the problem as contained as possible is best for everyone.”

NPAD officials are conducting an intraparty survey as of 4 p.m. Tuesday, asking party lawmakers to voice their opinions on Park’s leadership.

By Jeong Hunny (hj257@heraldcorp.com)