7 MDP reformers quit party leadership posts

Seven senior Millenium Democratic Party officials resigned yesterday from their leadership posts following their announced intention to quit the badly shattered party altogether.
Party secretary-general Lee Sang-soo, chief policymaker Chung Se-kyun, spokesman Moon Seok-ho, and four others handed in their resignation. Chairman Chyung Dai-chul has yet to accept the resignations.
The decision by the seven to step down followed a violent party meeting Thursday where the two main factions ― the party’s new leadership or legislators affiliated with President Roh Moo-hyun and the old leadership affiliated with founder and former President Kim Dae-jung ― fought, kicking over chairs, yanking hair and hurling epithets at one another. After the brawl, 31 legislators in the reform wing quit the party, giving Representative Kim One-ki the power to prepare for the creation of a new party.
Yesterday the Kim Dae-jung loyalists indicated that they would seek to keep the remnants of party intact. They will reconvene Monday to demand any reformers remaining in the leadership step down.
The two factions will aggressively court the moderate and the undeclared Millennium Democrats as well as reform-oriented politicians outside the party. Among the 101 Millennium Democratic representatives, 31 are new leadership, 51 are moderates and undeclared and 18 are the old guards that want to keep the Millennium Democratic Party as it is.
Not counted is Representative Kim Bang-rim, convicted of bribery.
Four lawmakers including Representative Lee Bu-young that have recently quit the Grand National Party, and Representative Kim Won-woong of People’s Party for Reform are possible recruits, political observers said.
The MDP’s new leadership will hold a workshop on Sunday in Seoul, to which they have invited the moderate party members.
“I have met individually with moderate legislators, and the results are good. It is now a matter of timing,’ said Lee Sang-soo, the former secretary-general as he came out of new leadership meeting.
Yesterday, two more legislators, Representatives Song Seok-chan and Kim Tae-hong joined the move to create a new party.
Representative Kim Keun-tae, a moderate who began a three-day-long penance to “apologize to the public” for the violence demonstrated by his party, is rumored to be ready to join in as well.
The old leadership is planning for a party convention in October to restructure the party leadership.
Meanwhile, 10 Busan-based members of the Millennium Democrats, political affiliates of President Roh, quit the party as they have said that they will.
President Roh said that he is keeping distance from the turmoil in the governing party, in a Thursday late night meeting with three political party leaders and National Assembly Speaker Park Kwan-yong.
But when Chairman Choe Byung-yul of the Grand National Party, asked him to give up his membership in the Millennium Democratic Party, Mr. Roh said, “Thank you for the advice.”

by Lee Jung-min