Sim Jae-cheol "My role ends here... The party's direction will be decided by the new floor leader"

Shim Jae-cheol, Acting President of the United Future Party, is attending a closed Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 29th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Shim Jae-cheol, Acting President and Floor Leader of the United Future Party, stated on the 30th, "I tried to democratically stabilize the party, but due to my shortcomings, I could not achieve results," expressing his intention to leave the party's future direction to the incoming floor leader. He plans to hold a general meeting of elected members soon to elect the new floor leader.

In a statement released that morning, Acting President Shim said, "I deeply regret that we could not launch the emergency committee system, which had been consolidated by majority opinion and passed by the National Committee."

He added, "Former election committee chairman Kim Jong-in effectively rejected the four-month emergency committee chairmanship. He said the party needed a certain period to prepare for the presidential election, but since the supplementary provisions were not amended, the emergency committee could not operate properly."

He continued, "At the Supreme Council, the overwhelming opinion was that reopening the Standing National Committee and the National Committee to properly organize matters and then handing them over to the next leadership would minimize party confusion. However, the chairman of the National Committee found it difficult to convene the meeting, so it was ultimately not pursued," he explained.

He said, "My role ends here," and added, "Above all, I am deeply sorry to the party members who desire change and to the many citizens who have supported our party."

He further stated, "I deeply regret that the majority opinion of our party's National Committee is being ignored and that a vocal minority is swaying decisions," emphasizing, "More important than the party's leadership system is how humbly and earnestly our party accepts and implements the public's mandate that the party must be completely transformed."

Acting President Shim concluded, "The party's future direction will be decided by the newly elected floor leader," and said, "We will hold a general meeting of elected members soon to elect the new floor leader."