Candidates running for floor leader of the main opposition party were in talks over possible compromise deals on Wednesday over who will serve as the party captain in the National Assembly, as the party’s in-house floor leader primaries draw nearer.
New Politics Alliance for Democracy Reps. Joo Seung-yong, Woo Yoon-keun, Lee Jong-kul and Rhee Mok-hee are contending for the spot, but the four have been attempting to iron out a deal that would put only one candidate on the nominee list.
The sole candidate would undergo a vote of confidence among party lawmakers as opposed to holding a four-way election that could worsen factionalism in the party.
If the talks do not succeed, in-house primaries will pit moderates against hard-liners on Thursday.
NPAD lawmakers fear the floor leader race will damage the party’s public standings by worsening infighting already exacerbated by failed talks on the special Sewol bill with the governing Saenuri Party.
NPAD hard-liners in August and September had vehemently criticized former floor leader Rep. Park Young-sun for failing to wrap up the Sewol bill talks in an “appropriate manner.” Criticism of Park reached fever pitch last month when she invited the conservative scholar Lee Sang-don to serve as the left-leaning party’s cochair.
Park eventually gave in to the hard-liners’ pressure and stepped down as floor leader last week.
Under Park’s leadership the party’s ratings fell from 26 to 22 percent according to Gallup Korea, an opinion surveyor. Support ratings reached a record low of 19 percent on Sept. 23.
Party moderates have criticized hard-liners for creating divisions within the party, and blame them for the declining public ratings.
The moderates supported the Wednesday meetings, as they hope to avoid an in-house primary that would widen the gap between them and the hard-liners.
Rep. Joo, reputed to be a moderate, has vowed not to run if Wednesday’s meeting fails to produce an agreement. The third-term lawmaker charged that the elections would widen divisions among the party’s ranks.
If Joo retreats from the race, moderates Woo and Lee will face hard-liner Rhee.
If Rhee were elected floor leader, partisan bickering between the NPAD and the Saenuri Party would increase, analysts said, as Rhee is reportedly in favor of “stronger opposition” to the ruling party.
That would mean differences between the nation’s two main political parties over the 2015 budget could deteriorate into a deadlock similar to the recent impasse over the special Sewol bill, halting major operations at the parliament.
By Jeong Hunny (hj257@heraldcorp.com)
