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An unexpected defeat in Wednesday¡¯s by-elections sparked internal trouble in the Grand National Party on Thursday, including calls for the leadership to quit. General opinion in the party is that the whole leadership should resign and hand over to an emergency committee. Two members of the governing body, Kang Chang-hee and Chun Yu-ok, stepped down.
Chun said, "A leader should take responsibility when needed." Kang said the GNP had been ¡°arrogant as if we had already won, seeing the support for the major presidential candidates reach over 70 percent. The people are tired of watching the small-minded fights between contenders." Hwang Woo-yea, the party¡¯s secretary-general, and other appointed party executives also submitted their resignations to chairman Kang Jae-sup.
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Grand National Party chairman Kang Jae-sup is seen during a GNP emergency meeting at the National Assembly on Thursday./Yonhap
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Lawmakers Nam Kyung-pil and Park Jin said the party needs to ¡°reconsider¡± its leadership. Rep. Lee Weon-bok said, "We need to break up the party and become reborn as a force of the center." But chairman Kang Jae-sup and Rep. Lee Jae-oh are against the resignation of leadership, saying it would increase confusion for the party. Unless the GNP finds a solution soon, the divisions are likely to deepen. Rep. Chun Yu-ok complained junior party members ¡°arbitrarily nominated candidates to satisfy their greed." Congressman Go Jin-hwa laid the disaster squarely at the door of the two leading presidential contenders, the feuding Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, and the governing body.
The two contenders¡¯ camps blamed each other. The Lee camp said "slander¡± from the Park side was seen as a dirty fight and played a role in the by-election defeat. Park's side said the defeat in the parliamentary seat for western Daejeon was former Seoul mayor Lee¡¯s fault for opposing government plans to move the administrative capital there from Seoul.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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