Ahn Cheol-soo Leaving Bareunmirae Party... Will Use Number 10 in New Party Formation and Elections

Sohn Hak-kyu Refuses Transition to Emergency Committee... Honam Faction's 'Step Back' Mediation Also Fails
Party Ethics Committee Fully Aligned with Sohn Hak-kyu Faction... 'Self-Expulsion' Impossible
Only One Ahn Cheol-soo Faction Incumbent Lawmaker, Kwon Eun-hee... New Party Formation Faces Practical Difficulties

Ahn Cheol-soo, former lawmaker of the Bareunmirae Party, held a press conference at the National Assembly on the 29th. On this day, Ahn officially announced his departure from the Bareunmirae Party. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The Bareunmirae Party experienced a split after a mudslinging fight between party leader Sohn Hak-kyu and former lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo. When Sohn refused to transition to an emergency committee (Emergency Committee), Ahn abruptly declared his departure from the party as his plan to remodel the party hit a dead end. Although lawmakers from the Honam faction proposed a mediation plan suggesting 'Sohn Hak-kyu and Ahn Cheol-soo step back to secondary roles,' it failed to prevent the defection. Political circles are pointing out that Ahn’s plan to establish a new party will face many practical difficulties.

A Bareunmirae Party lawmaker said in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 29th, "Even if Ahn forms a new party, it won’t be like before. Everyone acknowledges this," adding, "The Ethics Committee is 100% composed of Sohn’s supporters. Ultimately, only lawmaker Kwon Eun-hee can leave by defecting. If it’s a party with only one lawmaker, it would currently be assigned number 10 on the ballot."

In fact, except for lawmaker Kwon, all Ahn Cheol-soo faction lawmakers are proportional representation members. Unless Sohn expels these proportional representation lawmakers, even if Ahn forms a new party, it would only be a one-seat parliamentary party. In this case, the party would likely have to contest the 21st general election as number 10 on the ballot, following the Minjung Party. According to party rules and regulations, expulsion of a lawmaker member requires disciplinary review, resolution, and confirmation by the Ethics Committee, followed by approval from two-thirds of the total members at a party meeting.

Senior lawmakers from the Honam faction intended to prevent the split but ultimately failed in their final mediation efforts. Responsibility was also raised against Ahn. Lawmaker Park Joo-sun said on YTN Radio on the 29th, "Ahn Cheol-soo himself is responsible for Bareunmirae Party reaching this state," and criticized, "Neither Sohn nor Ahn should be at the forefront but should serve the party humbly as members." He added, "It is hard to justify Ahn forming a new party due to disputes over leadership authority," and pointed out, "There are too many people addicted to founding new parties."

Lawmaker Joo Seung-yong, after a lunch meeting with Ahn on the 28th, told reporters, "The creation of a second Yoo Seung-min Party would not be a good outcome," and said, "(If the party splits) issues like proportional representation or incidents similar to those with the Party for Democracy and Peace could arise. I hope such reckless results do not occur." Honam faction lawmakers met directly with Sohn in the afternoon to mediate. After the meeting, Joo said, "Sohn’s press conference seemed to be a declaration that he will not resign as leader," and added, "We told Sohn that we would demand what needs to be demanded from Ahn and urged him to make a decision."

Secretary-General Lim Jae-hoon said, "At the lunch hosted by Ahn, three senior lawmakers (Kim Dong-cheol, Park Joo-sun, and Joo Seung-yong) proposed that Sohn and Ahn step back to secondary roles," and explained, "They suggested forming an emergency committee where the two step down with a humble attitude, young people take the lead, and a harmonious balance of old, strong, and young members is achieved."