Kwon Seong-dong Resigns from Ruling Party Acting Position... Transition to Emergency Committee System Becomes Visible (Comprehensive)

Kwon "Deeply Responsible... Striving for Swift Transition to Emergency Committee"
Leadership Shaken by Resignation of Supreme Members Jo Su-jin and Yoon Young-seok
Lee Jun-seok Hits Back: "Starting to Sell Dog Meat with Dog Head Display"

Kwon Seong-dong, Acting Leader of the People Power Party, attended the People Power Party-Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam Budget Policy Council held at the National Assembly on the 27th and was looking at his mobile phone before the meeting started. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Hyun-ji] On the 31st, following Kwon Seong-dong, acting party leader and floor leader of the People Power Party, announcing his resignation as acting leader, and lawmakers Jo Su-jin and Yoon Young-seok stepping down from their positions as Supreme Council members one after another, the transition of the People Power Party to an emergency committee is expected to become more visible. Party leader Lee Jun-seok directly criticized the party's turmoil, saying, “They have lost their minds due to greed for party leadership.”

On the same day, Acting Leader Kwon posted on his Facebook, expressing “I deeply feel responsible as the acting party leader” regarding the internal party strife, and stated, “I will step down from my role as acting leader. I will devote all efforts to a swift transition to an emergency committee system.” This came 20 days after the party’s parliamentary meeting resolved the ‘Kwon Seong-dong acting leader system’ immediately following Lee Jun-seok’s six-month suspension of party membership.

Resignations from the party leadership continue to follow. On this day, Lawmaker Jo Su-jin stepped down from her Supreme Council position, followed by Lawmaker Yoon Young-seok expressing his intention to resign. Lawmaker Jo said, “I am stepping down from the Supreme Council position to take responsibility for the serious warning from public sentiment demanding reflection and change. A comprehensive reform of not only the party but also the presidential office and government is necessary.” Lawmaker Yoon stated, “The government and ruling party must unite all their strength to make a thorough reform. I humbly apologize to the public and intend to resign from my position as a Supreme Council member of the People Power Party.”

On the 29th, Lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin had resigned from the Supreme Council position, citing responsibility for internal party conflicts.

Amid recent controversies such as the presidential office’s private recruitment scandal and the leak of ‘internal criticism’ text messages involving President Yoon Seok-yeol, the ‘Kwon Seong-dong one-top system’ has been shaken, and voices calling for a transition to an emergency committee have grown louder. As Supreme Council members have resigned one after another, Acting Leader Kwon appears to have judged that it is difficult to maintain his position as acting leader. He said, “I respect the resignation intentions of several Supreme Council members and share the view that the party needs to be settled as soon as possible, even if just one day earlier.”

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee Jun-seok, who is conducting an outside public opinion campaign nationwide after being disciplined by the party’s Ethics Committee, raised his criticism level regarding this situation, saying, “They said not to hang a sheep’s head and sell dog meat, but now it seems they are trying to hang a dog’s head and sell dog meat.” On the 27th, he also referred to the four-character idiom ‘Yangdu Guyuk’ (hanging a sheep’s head while selling dog meat) to indirectly criticize the Yoon core group (key figures close to President Yoon Seok-yeol), emphasizing that their greed for party leadership has become blatant.

Lee said, “Their priorities are neither price stabilization, institutional reform, nor political innovation,” and added, “Aren’t they just Nazg?l and Gollum who have lost their minds due to greed for party leadership for various reasons? The public can see everything, so just keep shouting ‘my precious’.”