Bareun Party to elect new leader

The Bareun Party on Thursday decided to hold a national convention by Nov. 30 to elect its new leader who will replace Rep. Lee Hye-hoon, who stepped down last week as party chairwoman over a graft scandal.

The minor conservative party is suffering from an internal rift following Lee’s resignation. Rep. Yoo Seong-min, the party’s former presidential candidate, was largely expected to become the interim leader, but some lawmakers didn’t support Yoo.

“At a general meeting, we decided to form a new leadership before Nov. 30,” floor leader Joo Ho-young said. “We couldn’t push for the interim leadership committee (led by Yoo), considering the disagreement among some members.”

Before the party convention, Rep. Joo will serve as the acting party leader.

After a meeting Sunday, Yoo revealed his bid to head the party. “The Bareun Party should articulate its vision to revamp the conservatives. With comrades, I will gladly walk across the bumpy road ahead of us,” Yoo said on his Facebook page.

Since no notable rival candidates have been found in the party, the four-term lawmaker is likely to clinch the leadership in the upcoming race. Other than Yoo, Reps. Ha Tae-keung and Kim Yong-tae may throw their hats into the ring.

The minor conservative party was started in January by those who defected from the Liberty Korea Party (LKP) in protest against ex-President Park Geun-hye’s legacy.

In the presidential election in May, Yoo stood apart from the LKP by touting well-made welfare and labor policies. There, he presented a new path of the “clean and warm” conservatives which attracted the young generation. Now the party is being challenged to consolidate its own support base and overcome its meager popularity — 5.1 percent according to a Realmeter poll issued Thursday.