“‘Han Dong-hoon and Lee Jun-seok’s Orders’… Ashamed in Front of the Public”
On June 10, Park Chan-dae, acting representative and floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Kim Yong-tae, chairman of the emergency planning committee of the People Power Party, attended the 38th anniversary of the June 10 Democratic Uprising and the opening ceremony of the Democracy Movement Memorial Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Reporter Im Se-jun
[Herald Economy = Reporter Kim Hae-sol] On the 10th, Kim Yong-tae, chairman of the emergency planning committee of the People Power Party, criticized lawmakers who were skeptical about his party reform proposal, saying, “If you dismiss (the reform proposal) as a personal political agenda or an attempt to extend my term, the party cannot move forward.”
After attending the 38th anniversary commemorative ceremony of the June 10 Democratic Uprising at the Democracy Movement Memorial Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Kim told reporters, “I announced the reform proposal as a minimum measure for our party to reflect on past mistakes and to regain the trust of the public.”
Previously, on June 8, Kim held a press conference at the National Assembly, where he announced party reform tasks such as ▷holding a party convention by early September ▷invalidating the party stance opposing the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol ▷referring those who justify martial law to the ethics committee ▷investigating the attempt to replace presidential candidates Kim Moon-soo and Han Deok-soo ▷implementing a bottom-up nomination process for metropolitan and local government heads. However, a general assembly of lawmakers held the next day to discuss the party innovation plan ended without progress, focusing instead on debates over Kim’s position.
Regarding this, Kim emphasized, “If you keep talking about the procedures and terms of my reform proposal, it seems like there’s no willingness to accept it.”
He added, “When I presented the reform proposal, many lawmakers in our party asked me, ‘Who is behind you?’ ‘Did you consult with Han Dong-hoon?’ ‘Is this the intention of Kim Moon-soo?’ Some even absurdly asked if I was receiving instructions from the reforms party of Lee Jun-seok. I feel really ashamed in front of the public.”
Kim stated, “We suffered a crushing defeat in the presidential election, so we need to gather consensus on how to reflect and reform, rather than interpret the political intentions behind the reform proposal of the emergency committee chairman. If there are lawmakers questioning this, the party has no future.”
Furthermore, he said, “I mentioned that if any remarks within our party justify martial law, I would strongly request disciplinary action from the ethics committee. I was surprised by those who opposed even this. I want to emphasize again that opposing impeachment was not to justify martial law. If the Constitutional Court had ruled in favor of impeachment (of former President Yoon), nullifying past opposing party stances aligns with the principles of liberal democracy and constitutional spirit.”
He continued, “If we hold a party convention, party members and officials might split and diverge based on support or opposition to impeachment. As the chairman of the emergency committee, I think we need to prevent this,” he added.