Dealing a hard blow to President Roh Moo-hyun, 23 lawmakers bolted from the ruling Uri Party Tuesday to create a new party amid growing pessimism over its chances of winning December's presidential election.
"With our deep regret and apology to the public, which is against the Uri Party, we are determined to give up our current power and become a seed to form a new united party," Lee Jong-gul said at a press conference, accompanied by other defectors.
The mass defection reduced the ruling party to second place in the parliament with 110 seats. The helm was transferred to the conservative opposition Grand National Party (GNP) that has 127 seats.
The move came despite appeals from Roh and the party leadership who called on party members to stick together so as to challenge the popular opposition in the presidential election. Taking a step back, Roh said he was willing to resign from the party if asked to do so to help resuscitate it.
Chairman Kim Geun-tae immediately criticized the defectors, saying "To those who defected today, I'd like to ask if they were faithful to their principles and obligations."
Talk on disbanding has been under way inside the party, which is expected to announce its future plans at its national congress on Feb. 14.
According to the public opinion polls, the Uri Party does not have a figure who can beat heavyweights from the GNP in the upcoming election. Former Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, former GNP chairwoman and the daughter of former President Park Chung-hee, lead the race, far ahead of the ruling party's potential candidate Chung Dong-young, former unification minister for Roh.
The GNP commands public support of more than 50 percent, while that of the ruling party hovers a little over 10 percent.
The defectors are planning to establish a new liberal party along with outside forces. Its potential candidates are members of the Democratic Party, a minor opposition party on the liberal side, from which the founders of the Uri Party came.
"Our goal is not to break up the party, but to make a party with other forces. All forces should stand united to confront the Grand National Party," Jun Byung-hun said.
Over the past two weeks, six lawmakers have already deserted the embattled party. They include former Justice Minister Chun Jung-bae and Yum Dong-yun, key members loyal to Roh. Several others were expected to follow suit later this week.
The defections illustrated the imminent breakup of the Uri Party just three years after its launch. Democracy activists and lawmakers loyal to Roh created the party in November 2003, after bolting from the Democratic Party, the ruling party at that time formed by former President Kim Dae-jung and supported by the country's southwest.
The Uri Party called for an end to chronic regionalism and strove to gain balanced nationwide support.
It had early success, becoming the first ruling party to control a majority in the parliament since 1988. It won 152 seats with a thin majority in general elections in 2004, largely due to voters who sympathized with Roh, who was impeached by opposition parties and later restored to power by the constitutional court.
Uri Party's political experiment, however, lost steam in face of the deep-rooted rifts in the country. Public support further waned over its lackluster economic performance that resulted in soaring real estate prices and the slowing economic growth rate at around 4 percent.
Seoul, Feb. 6 (Yonhap News)
Over 20 lawmakers leave S. Korea's ruling party ahead of presidential election |
