Former floor leader of the main opposition party Rep. Park Jie-won announced his defection Friday, vowing to remain independent for the time being.

The former aide to late President Kim Dae-jung has been considered a pivotal figure representing the old guard of The Minjoo Party of Korea, holding significance influence over Jeolla Province constituents.

“I, as the former chief secretary of President Kim Dae-jung, am leaving the party he created. I will be leaving for a while in order to integrate the divided opposition and for the sake of our victory,” he said at a press conference.

Park, who represents Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, has repeatedly hinted at his defection for months, saying that 90 percent of his supporters wished for him to leave the Minjoo Party.

The Minjoo Party has been embroiled in a power struggle surrounding the current leadership led by Rep. Moon Jae-in. Members without a direct association with Moon, a political protege of former President Roh Moo-hyun, have long been challenging his leadership, holding him responsible for repeated election failures.

So far, 18 of the dissenters, including Park, have left the Minjoo Party.

Park has been openly critical of Moon, whom he vied against for the party chairmanship in February last year. He lost by a small margin.

Park began to hint at his defection as the party’s feud surged over the election nomination rules in September.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)