Ten lawmakers demand party be disbanded and replaced by new party


The ruling Grand National Party’s decision-making body is once again being pressed to resign en masse, amid mounting criticism over a cyber attack on the national election watchdog by an aide to one of its lawmakers.

Even members of the Supreme Council suggested that the party should rebuild itself from scratch if it is to stand a chance in the upcoming elections.

Council member Rep. Won Hee-ryong and nine other lawmakers issued a statement Tuesday, demanding that the GNP disband itself and start as a new political party.

“We agreed that partial renewals would be meaningless and a fundamental measure (such as re-foundation) is necessary,” they said.

They also pledged to take extra action should the party fail to respond to their calls.

The 10 members, who are mostly considered pro-Lee Myung-bak, placed pressure on the party leadership which is currently steered by Rep. Hong Joon-pyo.

Rep. Ahn Hyoung-hwan, however, claimed that the statement was only an emergency act, not an attack on the party chairman.

Hong had earlier claimed to be ready to step down and give way to former chairwoman Rep. Park Geun-hye, taking responsibility for the party’s loss of public trust, but retained his position.

Also, the Supreme Council resigned en masse after the party’s defeat in the April by-elections, but most members were reelected or assigned to other key posts.

“Politicians need to see beyond imminent situations and seek realistic solutions,” the party leader said Monday, hinting that he will break through the crisis caused by the DDoS attack without stepping down.

Other party officials argued that a leadership reshuffle or party reorganization would only result in a political vacuum.
 
Park and her aides, on the chorus hand, remained reserved over the issue, as the mass resignation of the current council may bring the former chairwoman back in the post, despite her presidential blueprint.

“The GNP may not drag on like this,” said Rep. Yoo Seong-min.

The top pro-Park lawmaker, however, did not explicitly join the calls for the power reshuffle.

While the GNP remained in turmoil, the main opposition Democratic Party stepped up its offensive, accusing the GNP of being actively involved in the cyber attack.

“The given attack is a serious violation of the law and political morals, and the GNP, if it is responsible for the attack, should close down based on the Constitution,” said floor leader Rep. Kim Jin-pyo.

Rep. Park Young-sun also argued that the resignation of a single official is not sufficient to wrap up the incident and demanded the entire Supreme Council resign.

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