Taking Responsibility for Presidential Election Defeat, Kwon Steps Down as Floor Leader
"I Drank from the 'Poisoned Chalice' to Prevent Party Division"
"Cannot Understand Why Martial Law Was Declared... Even If Yoon Leaves, the Party Must Survive"
Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, stepped down from his position on the 12th, stating, "We must take the failures and impeachment of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, as well as our defeat in the last presidential election, as lessons and begin a process of reflection and innovation."
On this day, Kwon held a farewell press conference at the National Assembly, where he shared his thoughts on leading the party as floor leader from the time of former President Yoon Suk-yeol's 12·3 Martial Law and the subsequent impeachment crisis, through to the 6·3 presidential election.
First, Kwon defined former President Yoon's 12·3 Martial Law as "an illegal martial law." He said, "(Martial law) was an extremely wrong choice politically," adding, "Even now, I cannot understand why martial law was declared." However, he added, "Even if former President Yoon leaves, the party must survive."
Regarding the background of his decision to serve as floor leader during the impeachment crisis, he said, "I ran for floor leader at the earnest request of many fellow lawmakers," and added, "Some lawmakers and media criticized me, asking why a pro-Yoon figure was becoming floor leader."
He continued, "I played a significant role in the birth of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration," and calmly stated, "After that, I was constantly labeled as 'pro-Yoon' and a 'Yoon core associate'." However, he emphasized, "I have never flattered the president or received any special favors. I did not join the transition committee, nor did I participate in the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's cabinet."
He went on to confess, "On the contrary, from the presidential election period through the launch of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, I have repeatedly offered frank criticism to former President Yoon. I also withdrew my candidacy for party leader midway through the race."
Comparing the floor leader post to a "poisoned chalice," he said, "I drank from the poisoned chalice to prevent the party from splitting. If it would help the election, I was willing to endure any criticism."
Kwon also claimed that he did his utmost to maintain party unity after the passage of the impeachment motion against former President Yoon. He said, "Even as fierce internal conflicts erupted over the impeachment, I tried in every way to mediate between both sides and to form a united front for the upcoming presidential election. One side called me a 'traitor,' while the other accused me of being 'old-fashioned,' but I endured it all in silence and tried to keep the party centered."
Diagnosing the defeat in the presidential election, Kwon expressed concern over the party's internal divisions. He said, "The Democratic Party managed to win the presidency by uniting behind a deeply flawed candidate. In contrast, we fielded the far more capable Kim Moon-soo as our candidate, but lost due to division and repeated mistakes."
He added, "Even if there are political disagreements, we should have formed a united front before the grand contest of the election. That is the duty of comrades in the same party."
He continued, "Let us stop blaming each other and dividing. I hope every member of our party can become an elite who truly serves the party, escaping the swamp of division."
Regarding former leader Han Dong-hoon, he remarked, "Politician Han Dong-hoon is inseparable from former President Yoon. Without former President Yoon, Han would not even exist."
When asked whether he regrets playing a major role in recruiting former President Yoon during the impeachment crisis, he replied, "If we go back three years, our party had no competitive presidential candidates. I have no regrets about recruiting then-Prosecutor General Yoon Suk-yeol and achieving a change in government. At that time, it was the best choice."
However, regarding martial law, he drew a clear line, saying, "It was truly wrong for former President Yoon to declare martial law without any consultation with the party, and this was the biggest blunder of the recent presidential election."
Asked if he regrets the unification process between former presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo and former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, as some party members have raised questions about the leadership's responsibility, he answered, "The biggest task in that presidential election was unification. Former candidate Kim promised the public and party members dozens of times that he would unify. If we had deliberately ignored that issue when public and party sentiment was high, wouldn't we have been criticized for not properly reflecting the people's will?"
Regarding the sudden cancellation of the lawmakers' general meeting the previous day, he explained, "I thought it was not appropriate to hold a general meeting as I was stepping down. It was not because I was afraid."
The People Power Party will register candidates on the 14th and elect a new floor leader to succeed Kwon on the 16th. Song Eon-seok, a three-term lawmaker classified as pro-Yoon (pro-Yoon Suk-yeol), and Kim Sung-won, a three-term lawmaker closer to the pro-Han (pro-Han Dong-hoon) faction, were the first to declare their candidacies.
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