Ruling party struggles to find floor leader
Yoon’s aide vetoed by fellow lawmakers
The ruling People Power Party (PPP) is struggling to find a new floor leader, as no one has stepped forward to run for the position.
The party extended the deadline by four days — from Wednesday to Sunday — to encourage somebody to run, with members selecting a new floor leader at the general meeting of lawmakers-elect on May 9.
Rep. Yun Jae-ok, the PPP’s floor leader and acting chairman, acknowledged that they currently don’t have a candidate.
“We want to encourage as many members to run for the leadership position and give members more time to learn about and evaluate potential candidates,” he said.
Whoever takes the position faces a myriad of challenges, including forming an emergency committee and leading negotiations with opposition parties.
Several tricky bills include launching a special counsel probe into allegations surrounding the death of Marine Cpl. Chae Su-geun and stock manipulation allegations involving first lady Kim Keon Hee will have to be dealt with.
Moreover, the new floor leader will have to face mounting pressures from the presidential office and opposition parties.
It is rumored that Rep. Lee Chulgyu, a close aide of President Yoon Suk Yeol, is aiming to gain control of the party’s leadership, although he has not officially put forward his candidacy. Lee secured his third term by winning the Donghae-Taebaek-Samcheok constituency of Gangwon Province in the recent parliamentary elections.
However, some PPP members, including Daegu Mayor Hong Joonpyo, South Chungcheong Gov. Kim Taeheum and Rep. Bae Hyun-jin, said that Lee is not suited for the leadership role.
They blamed him for the party’s crushing defeat in the elections, in which the party managed to win only 108 seats in the 300-member National Assembly.
Bae said Lee, who served as the PPP’s secretary-general and a key member of the party’s candidate nomination committee during the election campaign, is responsible for the party’s defeat.
“I urge Rep. Lee to announce that he will not run for the floor leader position. He should no longer expose himself to criticism from the public. Now is the time for reflection and introspection,” Bae wrote on Facebook Tuesday.
“Lawmakers who have been elected more than three times should not shy away from responsibilities and be proactive,” she added.
Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo said he hopes a multi-term lawmaker elected in the greater Seoul area can take on the leadership position.
“We are in political turmoil. The 22nd National Assembly seems like it will be managed in a way that is unfavorable to our party, and thus we need someone with political influence,” he said on a BBS radio show, Wednesday.
Aside from Lee, Rep Song Seogjun, who secured his third term by winning in the Icheon constituency in Gyeonggi Province and Rep. Lee Jong-bae, who secured his fourth term by winning in the Chungju constituency in North Chungcheong Province, are mentioned as possible candidates.