First Meeting of the Special Committee on Party Charter and Regulations Amendments Begins
Includes Proportion of Public Opinion Reflection and Leadership System
"Not an Issue for Committee Members to Decide Among Themselves" Opposition
Before the People Power Party's leadership election, the special committee for revising the party constitution and regulations to change the rules is showing differences in stance from the start. While there is little disagreement except for the degree of change regarding the proportion of public opinion reflected in the method of electing the leadership, opinions are divided over whether issues such as the leadership system and the separation of party leadership and presidential candidacy fall within the scope of the special committee's discussions.
Yeosangyu, Special Committee Chairman for the Revision of the Party Constitution and Rules of the People Power Party, is speaking at the first meeting of the Special Committee for the Revision of the Party Constitution and Rules held at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 4th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
Hwang Woo-yeo, the emergency response committee chairman, said in his opening remarks at the first meeting of the special committee held at the People Power Party headquarters on the 4th, "The special committee for revising the party constitution and regulations is actually in a situation where it must also fulfill the role of the past reform committee," adding, "I hope you prepare a precious, strong, and meaningful party constitution and regulations with the mindset of preparing for the next hundred years." Chairman Hwang has experience serving as the chairman of a committee for revising the party constitution and regulations that outlined the party's reform direction after the April 2009 by-election defeat.
Chairman Hwang continued, "The party has been entrusted with the most important mission right now," and requested, "All committee members should temporarily put aside other tasks and focus solely on the special committee activities for the party for a while." This is interpreted as a request to comprehensively revise the party constitution and regulations related to the leadership election rules. Yeo Sang-gyu, the chairman of the special committee for revising the party constitution and regulations, also stated the day before, "The main agenda items are how much to reflect public opinion, how to structure the leadership system, and whether to separate party leadership and presidential candidacy." A special committee member also emphasized on the same day, "If it were only about deciding the proportion of public opinion to be reflected, would the emergency response committee have launched the special committee? More in-depth discussions are necessary."
On the other hand, some argue that the special committee launched under the emergency response committee does not have the authority to discuss these matters. Another special committee member said in a phone call on the same day, "Isn't this something that a few committee members deciding among themselves should not do?" It was also reported that at the previous day’s party members' meeting, Secretary-General Sung Il-jong explained to the members that there would be no further discussion about the leadership system. Currently, the People Power Party elects the party leader and supreme council members separately, but if the leadership system changes, it could be modified so that the runner-up in the party leader election becomes a supreme council member. This has been interpreted as an attempt to check former committee member and party leadership candidate Han Dong-hoon, leading to opposition voices both inside and outside the party.
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