DUP to tap emergency leader to rebuild party

The main opposition Democratic United Party will next week choose an emergency leader to spearhead efforts to rebuild the party following its defeat in last month’s presidential election, its floor leader said yesterday.

The interim chief will be elected during a meeting of the party’s executive members and lawmakers next Wednesday, Park Ki-choon told in a DUP policy meeting at the National Assembly.

The post has been vacant since former DUP Chairman Lee Hae-chan stepped down in November amid growing calls for political reform. The move was seen as a step toward merging candidacies between then-DUP presidential candidate Moon Jae-in and then-independent contender Ahn Cheol-soo.

The two liberals agreed to merge their candidacies in a bid to consolidate the opposition vote against ruling party contender Park Geun-hye. Ahn later dropped out of the race, allowing Moon to run as the main liberal candidate, but Park still won the Dec. 19 vote.

“I will do my best until the end to gather the collective opinion of the party” and set out on a path to reform, said Park, the floor leader.

Yonhap