Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly's Kwak Mi-sook, People Power Party Leader, Faces 'No Confidence' After 2 Months and 11 Days, Why?

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] The People Power Party in the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly passed a motion of no confidence against Representative Gwak Mi-sook. Accordingly, if the motion is confirmed, Representative Gwak will step down from her position just 2 months and 11 days after being elected on June 7.

However, Representative Gwak argued, "The party constitution and regulations stipulate that if the chairperson (representative) cannot preside over a meeting, the vice-chairperson may preside," adding, "But (today’s meeting) was adjourned by me in the capacity of chairperson, and I left the meeting room, so this does not fall under the case where 'the chairperson cannot preside over the meeting.'"

She further criticized, "Since the vice-chairperson presiding over the meeting itself violates the party constitution and regulations, the resolution on the no-confidence motion is procedurally flawed and invalid."

Earlier, the People Power Party negotiation group in the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly held a members' meeting at 10 a.m. on the 18th and passed the no-confidence motion against Representative Gwak Mi-sook.

The no-confidence motion against Representative Gwak was due to the fact that in the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly chairperson election held on the 9th, more than five rebel votes came from the People Power Party, resulting in Democratic Party member Yeom Jong-hyun defeating People Power Party member Kim Gyu-chang by 83 to 71.

The People Power Party side submitted the motion of no confidence, stating that Representative Gwak showed incompetent leadership by surrendering the chairperson position to the Democratic Party in the chairperson election, leaving an indelible disgrace not only to fellow assembly members but also to party supporters.

Meanwhile, in the negotiation group’s representative speech that morning, Representative Gwak emphasized the importance of cooperation, saying, "The development of Gyeonggi Province is only possible through cooperation."

In particular, she said, "I believe the will of the residents who created an equal number of seats for both ruling and opposition parties in the provincial assembly (People Power Party and Democratic Party each with 78 seats) is a request not to make any decisions unilaterally but to compromise and cooperate through rational discussions," adding, "During the negotiation process for the original organization, I saw the sprout of cooperation within the assembly. The People Power Party and the Democratic Party respected each other and found reasonable alternatives to reach a compromise."