Ruling party’s first-term lawmakers raise voices

As the members of the People Power Party close to President Yoon Suk-yeol, including its floor leader Kwon Seong-dong and Chang Je-won, are resigning from the front line of power following the aftermath of internal troubles within the party, its first-term lawmakers are raising their voices. In particular, there are signs that the party’s 63 first-term lawmakers who account for more than half of all 115 members of the party will be divided into pro-Yoon and non-pro-Yoon groups. There are concerns that conflicts between the two groups may persist among first-term lawmakers even after a new emergency response committee is launched.

According to the members of the ruling party on Monday, pro-Yoon first-term lawmakers are preparing a meeting for new members under the leadership of Park Soo-young. “A meeting similar to ‘choseon manri,’ which was a political revolution meeting among first-term lawmakers of the then-United Future Party after the 21st general election, is being prepared,” said a member of the People Power Party. “A meeting for the party’s newcomers, which had been suspended due to the presidential election and local elections, will be resumed.”

However, some members of the party are concerned that the meeting can be a new venue for pro-Yoon figures to unite their power. The meeting can serve the role of putting President Yoon’s ideas first within the party on behalf of those who were close to the president and retired from the front line of power. Indeed, Park led a compact under joint signatures of 32 first-term lawmakers calling for the transition of the emergency response committee after severe disciplinary actions were taken against former party leader Lee Jun-seok.

Conflicts between the two sides were noticed during the announcement of the first-term lawmakers’ statement after a general meeting of the party on August 30. The first-term lawmakers gathered after the general meeting and said that some multi-term members shared their personal opinions, which undermined the real intention of resolutions made during the general meeting. It was a comment targeting senior members of the party who were negative toward the launch of a new emergency response committee. However, some non-pro-Yoon first-term members said it was not a consensus among all first-term members.


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