Ruling party seeking reform might be nothing but beating around the bush

Eight appointed officials of the People Power Party resigned on Saturday. While the leader of the party Kim Gi-hyeon, the floor leader of the party Yun Jae-ok, and four selective members of the supreme council maintain their current positions, key appointed officials, including the chair of the policy committee Park Dae-chul and Secretary General Lee Chul-gyu stepped down. Their decisions took place three days after the party faced a crushing defeat in the by-election for the head of Gangseo-gu Office on Wednesday. The ruling party held a general meeting on Sunday to discuss reform plans for the party.

While the resignation of appointed officials seems to be a solution to avoid the comprehensive reform of the leadership in response to the by-election defeat, it is questionable whether it is enough to avoid the responsibility of the leadership. It seems like an action to avoid switching to an emergency committee by maintaining the current system under the party’s leader Kim, despite the rising crisis in and outside the party and strong requests for reform. For two days after the defeat, the party delayed announcing its reform plan while staying silent regarding its leadership. The resignations were a half reform that was put forward under pressure from the public, saying no one was taking responsibility.

The delay in announcing such a stopgap measure is because the party leadership had to conduct negotiations under the table as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered a ‘calm and wise change.’ The idea is to smooth out internal opposition by appointing less pro-Yoon figures in the empty positions as President Yoon’s direct control over the ruling party, which took a lot of effort to build, will be broken if Kim steps down. However, some members of the party criticized the measure for simply cutting ties and not addressing the fundamental issue.

While the biggest responsibility for the by-election defeat lies in the one-sided government operation of the president, the ruling party’s leadership also holds responsibility as it was complacent with being the presidential office’s local office in Yeouido. The figure who was the cause of the by-election defeat was pardoned by President Yoon, and the ruling party nominated him without raising opposition. The party is still focused on pleasing the presidential office despite alarm sounds. What can people expect from a party that is vertically subordinate to the presidential office?

The ruling party's reform should begin with restoring a healthy balance between the party and the presidential office. More than anything, the party should drastically change its suffocating environment. The ruling party, whose leadership is predominantly pro-Yoon and that has figures with controlling power, will not show a responsible attitude. Reforms bring sacrifice and pain. However, the party should know that it will face even more pain six months later without a fundamental and radical reform.