Na Kyung-won drops out of PPP race as party continues search for a leader

Politics

Published: 25 Jan. 2023, 16:55

Na Kyung-won drops out of PPP race as party continues search for a leader

Former lawmaker Na Kyung-won announces that she will not run in the People Power Party (PPP) leadership race in a press conference at the PPP headquarters in Yeouido, western Seoul, Wednesday. [KIM SEONG-RYONG]

After Na Kyung-won, a potential contender to become People Power Party's (PPP) next leader, stepped out of the race Wednesday, the party is now focused on figuring out which of the remaining candidates will emerge as its new chief.

Na, a former four-term lawmaker, announced she will not run for party leadership in the upcoming PPP national convention in March to overcome divisions within the party in a press conference Wednesday, following a public row with the presidential office which resulted in her being sacked from two presidential posts earlier this month.

"I will courageously lay down [my bid] if it can prevent the people's concerns about division and confusion within our party and help the party return to harmony and unity," Na told reporters in front of the PPP headquarters in Yeouido, western Seoul.

She said that the decision to run would have been the "easier choice" and reflected on her coming to terms with sacrificing her political ambitions for the greater benefit of the PPP.

"I decided to quit with a heart that loves the party and as the real mother in Solomon's trial," Na added, referring to the judgment of King Solomon in the Bible when two women claimed to be the mother of a child.

Na said she plans to embark on "a long journey toward a new future and solidarity" to align the visions of the people and the party.

She added she wishes for the "genuine success" of the party and the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

However, she told reporters that she does not intend to "play any role" in the upcoming party convention.

On Jan. 10, Na tendered her resignation as the vice chair of the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy after the presidential office said it did not see eye-to-eye with her low birthrate policy proposals.

Na had been appointed by Yoon to lead the population policy presidential committee and top climate ambassador last October.

After sitting on the resignation letter for days, President Yoon Suk Yeol sacked her from both positions on Jan. 13, ahead of his overseas visit to the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland.

Na, a judge-turned-politician, has been a leading candidate as the party's next chairperson and consistently scored high in public opinion polls surveying the popularity of potential PPP leaders.

Party members have often described her as a "star player" who is well-versed in policies and has a strong support base within traditional conservatives. She served as the first female floor leader of the conservative party from 2018 to 2019.

However, in the past three weeks since Na's standoff with the presidential office, she has been facing perhaps the biggest hurdle in her 20-year political career as she finds her next steps.

The PPP is set to hold a national convention on March 8 to pick a new chairperson, who will play a pivotal role in leading the party in the parliamentary elections in 2024.

The new chief will replace the current interim leader, Chung Jin-suk, who led the party after Lee Jun-seok was ousted as PPP chairman over a sexual bribery scandal in August year.

With Na out of consideration, PPP Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, a four-term lawmaker and former Ulsan mayor, and PPP Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, a third-term lawmaker who dropped out of the March 9 presidential race in 2022 as a candidate of the minor People's Party to support Yoon, are seen as the leading contenders who are expected to face off in the party convention. Others include Reps. Yoon Sang-hyun and Cho Kyung-tae. Former lawmaker Yoo Seong-min has been popular with a faction that is not pro-Yoon.

Kim and Ahn already declared their bids, and recent polls indicate that the party leadership could become a two-way race between them.

The PPP has been divided by members who are close to Yoon, who are seen to be backing Kim, and those who are not.

There have been concerns within the pro-Yoon faction that if Na ran in the party leadership race, she could potentially split the votes between her and Kim.

The presidential office is also seen as being supportive of Kim.

Since friction with the presidential office, Na, who had been leading in popularity polls for potential party leader at the beginning of the year, dropped to second place in a Realmeter survey on Jan. 15, with 26.9 percent, trailing behind Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon's 32.5 percent. Other surveys also saw her dropping even to third place.

In an Embrain Public poll released Wednesday and conducted over Sunday and Monday, Kim came in the lead with 25.4 percent of respondents picking him as their favorite candidate, trailed by Ahn at 22.3 percent and Na at 16.9 percent.

Later Wednesday, Rep. Kim welcomed Na's decision not to run in the March party convention, recognizing it as a "self-sacrifice" and a move prioritizing the upcoming general elections and the Yoon government.

"It is now our party's turn to respond to Na's sacrificial decision," Kim said in a Facebook post Wednesday. "The spirit of solidarity and inclusiveness transcending conflict and division is desperately needed."

Ahn in turn called Na's decision "unfortunate and regrettable" in a Facebook post, saying her bid would have given party members more options and drawn more attention from the public.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]