Choo Kyung-ho Contemplates Return to the Assembly... Inside and Outside the Party Say "Trapped in a Difficult Situation"

Despite Party Re-nomination Support,
Choo "Will Organize My Thoughts Over the Weekend"

Chu Kyung-ho, the floor leader of the People Power Party who had expressed his intention to resign after being responsible for the negotiation of the 22nd National Assembly's organization, is reportedly considering returning.

A People Power Party floor official told reporters at the National Assembly on the 28th, regarding Chu's return, "There was a demand at yesterday's party meeting for Floor Leader Chu to return quickly, and such opinions within the party were fully conveyed when he entered Incheon Port."

On the afternoon of the 27th, Choo Kyung-ho, the floor leader of the People Power Party who had expressed his intention to resign, arrived at the Incheon Port Coastal Passenger Terminal in Jung-gu, Incheon, and responded to reporters' questions. After announcing his intention to resign, Floor Leader Choo visited Baengnyeongdo on the 25th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Since Floor Leader Chu is staying in Seoul, he also expressed his intention to keep in frequent contact and listen to opinions. The floor official said, "Floor Leader Chu said he would deliberate, and he gave us the position that he would not delay the decision for long, and that he would listen and think a bit more until today and the weekend, and make some decision around Sunday, so we are waiting until Sunday," adding, "We strongly hope for the floor leader's return."

After announcing his intention to resign, Floor Leader Chu went into hiding around Baengnyeongdo from the 25th. He entered Incheon Port the day before, where Jeong Jeom-sik, the Policy Committee Chair, Bae Jun-young, the Deputy Floor Leader, Shin Seong-beom, the Intelligence Committee Chair, Lee In-seon, the Women and Family Committee Chair, and lawmakers Kim Jong-yang, Park Soo-min, Han Ji-a, Park Jun-tae, and Woo Jae-joon attempted to persuade him.

However, it remains uncertain whether Floor Leader Chu will return to work. He did not attend the 22nd National Assembly Speaker and Standing Committee Chairs' visit to the National Seoul Memorial Cemetery that day. As he stated the day before that he would "organize his thoughts over the weekend," it is unknown whether he will retract his resignation. Currently, Floor Leader Chu's mobile phone is turned off.

Inside and outside the party, there are discussions attributing responsibility for Chu's resignation to former Emergency Response Committee Chairman Han Dong-hoon.

Former People Power Party Supreme Council member Kim Jae-won said in a KBS radio interview that day, "When I (former Chairman Han), a candidate for party leadership, said I would propose the special prosecutor law for Chae Sang-byung, it made it so that Floor Leader Chu had no justification to fight," adding, "He went to Baengnyeongdo, resigned, and is now trapped in a difficult situation."

Yoon Sang-hyun, a candidate for party leadership, claimed that former Chairman Han, who is responsible for the party's defeat in the recent general election, ultimately caused Floor Leader Chu to resign. After a press conference the day before, Yoon told reporters, "Isn't Han Dong-hoon the one who caused the party to shrink?" He added, "If a coach is dismissed during a soccer game, and the dismissed person comes back after two months and says he wants to be the national team coach again, what is that? In short, it is disrespectful to the players and the audience."