[News Desk]
◀ Anchor ▶
Amidst the prosecution’s actions, it seems that the ruling party, People Power Party, is heavily focused on the issue of First Lady Kim Keon-hee.
When Representative Han Dong-hoon proposed to monitor the misconduct of the President’s family through a special inspector under the President, Floor Leader Choo Kyung-ho drew a line by saying, “That’s a parliamentary matter.”
Today, Representative Han countered by saying that the party leader oversees both parliamentary and non-parliamentary matters.
Pro-Yoon and pro-Han factions exchanged sharp remarks publicly.
This is Ji Yoon-soo reporting.
◀ Report ▶
At the party leadership meeting, Representative Han Dong-hoon brought up the authority of the party leader.
[Han Dong-hoon / People Power Party Leader]
“To avoid any misunderstanding, let me clarify. Naturally, the party leader is responsible for overseeing the party’s overall operations, whether it’s parliamentary or non-parliamentary.”
This statement targeted Floor Leader Choo Kyung-ho, who had opposed Han the day before by stating the special inspector nomination is a parliamentary matter.
Han emphasized that delaying the recommendation for a special inspector might be perceived as a political tactic to block oversight of the President’s surroundings.
Floor Leader Choo held off on further response, mitigating an immediate escalation.
[Choo Kyung-ho / People Power Party Floor Leader]
“I will not comment further on this. No comments.”
However, Choo announced plans for a party meeting, emphasizing the need to gather opinions from lawmakers.
In a chat room with 108 People Power Party lawmakers, Representative Bae Hyun-jin asked if the floor leader outright opposed the special inspector, warning it could seem contrary to the President’s pledges. This was followed by pro-Han members pointing out, “Let’s quickly open a general assembly and proceed with the nomination process for the special inspector.” In response, Floor Leader Choo stated, “I will convene a general meeting after the national audit.”
Representative Han Dong-hoon, firmly stating the party leader oversees both parliamentary and non-parliamentary matters, made a rare visit to the site of the ongoing national audit, interpreted as a display of willingness to involve himself in parliamentary affairs at any time.
The clash between pro-Han and pro-Yoon factions became evident even during public meetings.
[Jang Dong-hyuk / People Power Party Supreme Council Member]
“The party and the presidential office need to change how they address and solve issues.”
[Kim Jae-won / People Power Party Supreme Council Member]
“There should at least be a certain level of decorum when criticizing a party member who is the President.”
Within the party, there are concerns about the conflict benefitting only the opposition, but if a showdown occurs at the predicted party assembly, tensions could reach a peak.
This is Ji Yoon-soo with MBC News.
Video coverage: Kim Hae-dong, Lee Ji-ho / Video editing: Moon Chul-hak
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