Kwon to act as acting chair of emergency response committee

Chaos in the ruling party is growing larger, rather than being contained. The People Power Party decided on Monday to launch the emergency response committee without its chair. The party’s Floor Leader Kwon Seong-dong will act as the committee’s acting chair and the new committee will be launched before Chuseok holiday next month. However, some in the party are opposing Kwon’s role as the acting chair and even asking for him to step down as the floor leader.

The members of the emergency response committee decided during a meeting on Monday that they would continue to perform their work until the new committee is launched. “All members of the committee decided that Floor Leader Kwon should play the role as the acting chair of the committee who will act as the acting leader of the party and operate the committee until the new committee is launched,” said Park Jeong-ha, the chief spokesperson of the committee.

However, the decision was immediately met with strong opposition. “The decision to maintain the emergency response committee should be withdrawn and a new floor leader who shall be elected according to the party’s constitution and regulations should become the acting leader of the party,” said Yoon Sang-hyun, Yu Eui-dong, and Choi Jae-hyung of the People Power party during a press conference. Ahn Cheol-soo who is viewed as the next leader of the party also said on his Facebook account that a new floor leader should be elected to go back to the system where he or she plays the role of the acting leader of the party.

Meanwhile, former party leader Lee Jun-seok applied for an injunction on Monday through his legal representative, saying that the invalid acting chair and the invalid members of the committee appointed by the invalid emergency response committee do not have the right to run the party. He also criticized those who called for quick additional disciplinary actions against him at a general meeting of the assembly on Saturday, saying that they were overacting to cover an overaction. On the other hand, the chair of the emergency response committee Joo Ho-young who is under suspension from performing duties filed for a stay of execution to the court on Monday, entering the next round of legal battles.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is keeping his distance for now from the endless chaotic situation in the ruling party. “As it is the decision that the members of the party made, it should be respected,” the president said on his way to his office on Monday.


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