Defeat Could Mean End for Uri Party

After the election defeat, there are arguments that the Uri Party should be disbanded and that President Roh should take the responsibility for the defeat.

“The election results are a de facto impeachment of the ruling party by the people. We will do what the people want us to do, even if that means dissolving the party,” said Uri Party lawmaker Moon Hee-sang on his homepage on June 2.

Although Moon said “if,” attention is focused on his mentioning disbanding the party.

“This election was a shocking event. In-depth discussions are required on whether to disband the ruling party according to the will of Koreans, or maintain it,” said Cho Kyung-Tae, Uri Party lawmaker from Busan, during an interview with Yonhap News on June 1.

There is growing discontent within the ruling party on the announcement to continue its policies regardless of the election results, rather than understanding public sentiment. Also, more Uri Party members are urging the president to take responsibility for the defeat.

In the Uri Party floor leadership meeting on June 2, hosted by floor leader Kim Han-kil and top policymaker Kang Bong-kyun, the government’s real estate and tax policies were pointed out as the cause for the people’s discontent toward the party. Therefore, leaders agreed to go over whether some policies were too burdensome, and decided to improve upon them at the National Assembly level.

“State affairs are carried out by both the government and the ruling party. Therefore, the government should also take up due responsibility. The president is in charge of state affairs, so he should take responsibility for the defeat,” said lawmaker Kim Doo-kwan in a radio program. Kim is known to be a close aide to President Roh.

Jung-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com jin0619@donga.com