"Apologizing for the Abuse of Power by Yoon and His Spouse...
We Will Sever Ties with the Past"
Seven Innovation Agendas Approved, Including Bottom-Up Candidate Nominations
On July 10, the Innovation Committee of the People Power Party decided to pursue the inclusion of a pledge in the party's constitution and regulations to apologize for past wrongdoings related to former President Yoon Suk Yeol and to break away from them. The committee plans to put this matter to a vote of all party members for a final decision.
Yoon Heesook, chairperson of the Innovation Committee, met with reporters after the first committee meeting at the party headquarters on the same day and stated, "We deeply feel responsible for failing to correct the abuse of power by the president and his spouse, which led to the declaration of emergency martial law. We also deeply reflect on and apologize for not making decisions that met the expectations of the people when faced with the impeachment of the president."
The Innovation Committee adopted a 'Letter of Apology to the People and Party Members' and a 'Promise for a New Start' as its first innovation agenda, both of which include these points. The letter of apology also addresses issues such as the party's operation being centered on pro-Yoon (pro-Yoon Suk Yeol) factions, the forced removal of former leaders Lee Junseok and Han Donghoon, and attempts to force a single presidential candidate.
Early next week, the committee plans to ask party members through a vote whether to reflect these points in the party's constitution and regulations. According to the committee, party leadership, including Song Eonseok, emergency committee chair and floor leader, has also accepted the proposal. Chairperson Yoon emphasized, "We will specify what our past wrongdoings were and make a clear break from them. The highest level of such a break is to reflect it in the party's constitution and regulations, just like the preamble to the Constitution."
The committee also presented a 'Promise for a New Start,' which includes: ▲ innovation to become a trusted party ▲ a field-oriented party that reflects the voices of party members and the public ▲ breaking away from a political culture of pursuing private interests and protecting one's own side ▲ strengthening capabilities for livelihood policies ▲ and bottom-up candidate nominations.
Ho Junseok, spokesperson and member of the Innovation Committee, explained, "We will include these points in the oath of office for elected party officials and public officials, and if any actions contrary to these pledges occur, we will activate the party member recall system to correct them. For proportional representation, which has traditionally been an area of top-down appointments, we will shift to a bottom-up approach through party member voting and actively consider vulnerable regions where the party is weak."
The Innovation Committee plans to hold its second meeting on July 11 to continue discussions. The specific agenda has not been disclosed.
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