The ruling party feud persisted on Tuesday, with its two main factions failing to agree on whether the party’s floor leader should keep his job.

President Park Geun-hye and her loyalists say Saenuri Party whip Rep. Yoo Seong-min should resign for backing a bill that would have given the legislature the right to request revisions to government decrees.

Park vetoed the bill, saying it had violated the principle of checks and balances in government.

But Yoo sympathizers say Park went too far in demanding his resignation, calling her demand a bullying tactic against Yoo, a rising figure in the governing party.

Park appears focused on avoiding premature lame-duck status, critics said, by replacing Yoo with one of her supporters in the wake of multiple policy crises that have cut her approval ratings, and with a nationwide parliamentary poll looming next year.

Park’s anti-Yoo actions, however, could backfire, pundits added, and accelerate her lame-duck status. Experts cited recent polls showing popular opposition to the president’s calls for Yoo to resign.

“I’m not sure if Park is a lame duck right now. But she could be asking for it, if she goes further with her anti-Yoo campaign,” said Lee Nae-young, Korea University professor of politics, citing a Jowon C&I poll of 700 adults last week showing 58 percent of respondents opposed Park’s stance on Yoo.

Park’s approval ratings fell to 29 percent on June 18, during the height of the Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak here, from 40 percent in late May, before rebounding to 33 percent last week, according to Gallup Korea.

Gallup’s weekly polls generally survey 1,000 adults nationwide and have a 95 percent confidence level on a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.

“I think Park’s already a lame duck,” Yang Seung-ham, professor at Yonsei University said, citing her lack of policy success stories.

“Her credibility just fell too much after the Sewol ferry accident last year, and the MERS outbreak (this month),” Yang added.

“The latest fight is a sign that Park loyalists are doing everything they can to hold on to their power before the president’s influence disappears.”

The Park-Yoo fight began last week when Park urged voters to vote against Yoo in next year’s parliamentary elections. The comment sparked public outrage, as the president appeared to be overstepping her constitutional authority.

The opposition said Park’s statement constituted election meddling.

“One way of resolving this is by giving Yoo some kind of justification for him to resign, so that he can save some face,” Lee said. “But that option runs the risk of sparking mass protest from Yoo supporters,” the Korea University professor added.

“The best way out for Park now is to invite Yoo to the presidential office and show the public that she is taking a more conciliatory stance toward him,” Yang said.

“That way, she can give off an impression of remorse for her earlier statements, and minimize the image that she is a bully trying to have her way,” he added.

By Jeong Hunny (hj257@heraldcorp.com)