Upon announcing his solo defection from the Saenuri Party, Rep. Lee Jung-hyun claimed to take all responsibility for the dire situation that the conservative ruling party has been in since the President Park Geun-hye scandal erupted late last year.

“Today, I leave the party, taking all responsibility as former chairman,” said Rep. Lee, a staunch ally of the impeached President Park, who was until two weeks ago the party’s chairman.

“I hope that the party uses me as a stepping stone to move toward unity and harmony,” he said at a press briefing. “We are faced with a number of urgent issues such as the next presidential election and constitutional revision, so (we) may no longer afford to take (political) risks.”

His decision, which was not accepted immediately by the party leadership, came amid rising tension within the party, following interim chief In Myung-jin’s stern demand that key pro-Park figures should leave the party by Friday to allow reform to take place.

“Those who hold responsibility in the current situation should defect,” In said last week, without specifying names but clearly referring to senior pro-Park figures such as Reps. Suh Chung-won, Choi Kyung-hwan, Kim Jin-tae, as well as Lee.

The interim chief’s ultimatum largely reflected the recognition that in order to survive the current political crisis, Saenuri should first cut off its longtime connection with the scandal-ridden president and her aides.

Saenuri had suffered major setbacks after the president’s parliamentary impeachment on Dec. 9. Thirty of its 128 lawmakers left the party on Dec. 28 to create a new political entity.

Having served as the president’s chief advisor since her inauguration, Lee is known to be one of the most ardent supporters of Park, coming to her rescue in every political crisis.

When rumors started to spread late last year about the president’s confidante Choi Soon-sil, he staged a hunger strike in apparent protest against the opposition camp, which consequentially distracted the public’s attention from the presidential scandal.

While opposition parties campaigned for Park’s impeachment, Lee had stubbornly refused to resign from the party chairmanship. He stepped down only last month after the party elected a fellow Park loyalist as its new floor leader.

Therefore, when Lee vowed to “take all responsibility,” it was taken as a message that he would carry all the blame that had been laid on the president and the pro-Park faction, and that other pro-Parks should be allowed to remain in the party.

“Rep. Lee told me over the phone that he was ashamed of being named as one of those who should be ousted,” floor leader Rep. Chung told reporters Monday, explaining Lee’s defection.

“I urged him to remain in the party and continue to play his role as the only lawmaker speaking for the (progressive-leaning) South Jeolla Province and close advisor to the president, but he declined.”

The opposition camp, however, described Lee’s decision as “meaningless.”

“Rep. Lee seems to be bearing his cross but his solo defection is nowhere close to the reform that is required of Saenuri,” said Rep. Park Kyung-mee, spokesperson of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea.

The runner-up People’s Party also claimed in a written statement that other pro-Parks should leave with Lee, and the minority Justice Party urged Lee to leave the political circle altogether.

The Saenuri’s interim leadership said that it will make a final decision on whether to accept his resignation by this weekend at the latest, according to officials.

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