People Power Party Rep. Kweon Seong-dong announced that he was stepping down as floor leader on Thursday, taking responsibility for the party candidate Kim Moon-soo’s defeat in the presidential election and in hopes of reform within the conservative bloc.
“We must start new discussions on a clean slate for the reconstruction of the conservatives -- I will resign from my role as floor leader first,” Kweon said during a general meeting of People Power Party lawmakers at the National Assembly.
Kweon said the latest election defeat is not merely the people’s “judgment on (former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s) martial law bid” but also their “reprimanding of the People Power Party’s internal rift.”
Signs of a widening rift have been observed within the party in recent years, but the cracks became more evident following Yoon’s failed martial law bid, and in the months leading up to the election. Throughout Yoon’s impeachment trial earlier this year, there were several disagreements between lawmakers who continued to support the now-impeached president and those who did not.
The party’s leadership last month, including Kweon, attempted to replace the party’s presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo with former Prime Minister and acting President Han Duck-soo in an overnight tug-of-war. The attempt failed after Kim refused to relinquish his candidacy.
"As floor leader, I carry a significant share of the blame," Kweon said. "I have no intention of avoiding it or making excuses."
Aligning themselves with Kweon’s sentiment, several other members of the party leadership, including policy chief Kim Sang-hoon, have decided to step down as well.
People Power Party interim leader Kim Yong-tae has yet to announce his resignation, telling reporters after the general meeting of lawmakers that he plans to “further consider the various opinions” before making a decision.
The party’s deputy floor leader, Park Hyeung-soo, said the topic of whether the entire leadership will resign will be further discussed in follow-up intra-party meetings.
After winning the June 3 snap election with 49.42 percent of the vote, President Lee Jae-myung took office on Wednesday. Lee's rival and conservative candidate Kim Moon-soo saw 41.15 percent.
Kim Moon-soo, hours after delivering a speech conceding defeat on Wednesday, criticized his party for having "no sense of obligation" to protect democracy, at a ceremony marking the dissolution of the People Power Party's election campaign committee.
"I believe I've committed a big, historic crime. And I've thought deeply over the reason, and this is because our party lacks any basic understanding of democracy and has no sense of obligation to protect it," he said.
Several politicians within the conservative bloc have called for the leadership to step down and take responsibility for the election defeat since Wednesday.
People Power Party Rep. Park Jeong-hun said that the “emergency response committee under interim leader Kim Yong-tae must be immediately dismantled,” via Facebook the previous day.
“We must form a new party leadership as soon as possible to design a new path for the party’s future.”
Former People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon similarly called Lee's election victory "a stern order from the people asking the political forces that supported an illegal martial law bid to leave," in a Facebook post uploaded early Wednesday.
mkjung@heraldcorp.com
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