The main opposition Democratic United Party is reeling from the internal backlash against the agreement by two prominent figures to share the party’s leadership posts.

The related controversy may also be a blow to Moon Jae-in, the party’s top presidential potential who approved of their mutual consent.

Senior adviser Lee Hae-chan and Supreme Councilor Park Jie-won earlier agreed to an alliance to the positions of party chairman and floor leader, respectively. The elected figures are to lead the party until the presidential election in December.

Their agreement was an effort to bond the pro-Roh Moo-hyun faction and the former Democratic Party group, but instead stirred potential disputes between in-party factions, as well as the resistance of neutral first-termers.

Also, the cross-factional duo was expected to win the majority vote with ease but is now facing obstacles. Park offered an apology over the controversial process and asked for support but faces a real chance of losing the floor leader vote, observers noted.

The DUP’s 56 first-term lawmakers-elect invited Park and three other floor leader candidates to an open forum.

The group is to hold an in-party election as they constitute almost half of the party’s quorum.

Meanwhile, Moon was left with the blame.

Moon earlier said that he saw no problem in the Lee-Park alliance but recently took a step back and acknowledged that the process was not ideal for the sake of party unity.

Should Moon’s reputation take a significant hit he is expected to make way to other competitors such as South Gyeongsang Gov. Kim Doo-kwan or Seoul National University professor Ahn Cheol-soo.

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