Kim Jong-in Receiving Love Calls Even After Election... Will He Firmly Decide to Join the Future United Party?

Kim Jong-in, the General Election Committee Chairman of the United Future Party, is holding a press conference on the election results at the National Assembly on the 16th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The United Future Party, urgently needing to transition to an emergency response committee system, is once again sending a love call to former General Election Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in. The reason is that there is no alternative other than former Chairman Kim to take on the position of emergency committee chairman. Amid divided opinions within the party, including calls for an 'early party convention,' attention is focused on whether Chairman Kim will accept the position of emergency committee chairman.

According to political circles on the 18th, Shim Jae-cheol, acting party leader of the United Future Party, visited former Chairman Kim on the afternoon of the 17th and proposed that he take on the role of emergency committee chairman. Since the acting party leader can appoint the emergency committee chairman according to party rules and regulations, if former Chairman Kim accepts the position, the United Future Party will be able to transition to an emergency committee system through internal party procedures.

The United Future Party's Supreme Council previously held a closed meeting and reached a consensus on transitioning to the Kim Jong-in emergency committee system. The reason is that there is no clear alternative other than former Chairman Kim when looking for a person with the experience and capability to serve as a focal point for the party in crisis.

However, the issue is that opinions within the party differ on how long the emergency committee will last. On the 17th, after a closing ceremony held at the National Assembly, Supreme Council member Cho Kyung-tae told reporters, "We need to form a response committee with a clear direction to quickly manage the situation," adding, "Since we need to hold a party convention quickly to form a new leadership and overcome the crisis, we should not continue with a long-term emergency committee system like in the past." On the other hand, Supreme Council members Lee Jun-seok and Shin Bo-ra said that the early party convention was a 'minority opinion.'

The current leadership was temporarily formed during the unification process, and after the election, a new leadership was to be formed through a party convention. Representative Cho argues that the party convention, originally scheduled for around August, should be moved up to July to quickly form a new leadership. If an early party convention is held, the period during which former Chairman Kim can serve as emergency committee chairman will be about two months. It is unlikely that former Chairman Kim will accept a two-month temporary emergency committee chairman position.

There are also voices criticizing the need for the entire party leadership to resign. Hong Joon-pyo, former Liberty Korea Party leader who was elected as an independent in Daegu Suseong, said, "The leader took responsibility and resigned, but those who lost the election under the judgment of the people are absurdly trying to manipulate the party's fate by claiming to be acting leaders," adding, "What is urgent is not the party convention but giving full authority to the emergency committee and preparing for the party convention under the leadership of the emergency committee."