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Kang on Sunday rejected calls for his resignation. Party spokeswoman Na Kyung-won said the chairman was mulling ways of taking responsibility as the head of the party by means other than resignation.

The reform measures do not include an open presidential primary, which is favored by the former Seoul mayor to take advantage of his lead in the polls, Kang’s aide Bahk Jae-wan said. Instead, the measures are focused on easing conflict between the two presidential contenders, rooting out corruption in the party, providing a roadmap for the presidential candidate nomination and preventing slanderous attacks in the process of selecting the candidate. But it would only take one of the presidential hopefuls to reject the measures for infighting to escalate to breaking point.

Rep. Chung Hyung-keun, a member of the party’s governing body, said the GNP will survive provided Kang and another member of the leadership, Lee Jae-oh agree on reform measures. But if they fail to agree, dissolution is inevitable, he added. Chung said he would decide on his political future once he has seen how Kang’s reform measures pan out.

Rep. Hong Jun-pyo said that some dozen party members, including GNP floor leader Kim Hyong-o, chief policymaker Jeon Jae-hee and Rep. Chun Yu-ok, agreed to demand Kang’s resignation and the formation of an emergency leadership committee, preferably led by former National Assembly speaker Park Gwan-yong.

(englishnews@chosun.com )