Kim said Roh Moo-hyun's policy on North Korea, including its nuclear weapons program, differed from his, while Lee said Roh was unstable politically and emotionally. They said, we would decide their future after looking towards a single presidential candidate, while remaining as independent lawmakers.

Following their announcement, other MDP members, including co-chairman of an anti-Roh faction in MDP, the Committee for a Single Candidate, Kim Won-gil, Park Jong-woo, Lee Yoon-soo, Park Sang-kyu, Seol Song-ung, Lee Hee-kyu, and Yoo Jae-gyu held a meeting and resolved to quit the party on Monday.

The anti-Roh faction is planning to totally abandon the party after the regular session of the National Assembly, which ends on November 8. MDP secretary general Yoo Yong-tae, who has declared his resignation, Hong Jae-hyeong, the director of the Budget Committee of the National Assembly, secretary Jang Seong-won, and representatives of Chungcheon (Song Young-jin), Gyeonggi (Park Jong-woo, Choi Seon-young, and Kim Deok-bae) are reportedly planning to quit.

MDP senior member Park Sang-cheon also said in a phone interview that he would announce his stance early in the week. At the same time Park Byung-yoon said in an individual statement, "a critical situation will break out without a clear result for single candidate until November 8," expressing his wish to quit.

Rhee In-jae is also known to be going to and the anti-Roh faction is planning to work on making a single candidate between Roh and Chung Mong-joon of National Unity 21 by organizing a negotiating group.

(Yoon Young-shin, ysyoon@chosun.com )