Minsaengdang Split in Two... Ultimately a 'Battle for the Rice Bowl'

Secured 5 Seats by Participating in Proportional Alliance Party
Barunmirae Faction Launches Fierce Attack on Alternative and Peace Factions
Conflict Over Chairing Supreme Council and Other Issues

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The Minsaeng Party split into two again less than a month after merging. The factions from the Bareunmirae Party and the Alternative New Party-Democratic Peace Party could not reconcile their differences over participation in the proportional representation coalition party and the nomination management committee. Park Joo-hyun, co-representative from the Peace Party faction, convened an emergency supreme council meeting, approved participation in the proportional representation coalition party, and then revised the nomination committee regulations that the Bareunmirae faction had approved. Ultimately, it is difficult to avoid criticism that this is a 'turf war' over proportional representation nomination rights between factions.

On the 19th, a key figure from the Bareunmirae Party faction said, "(The Alternative and Peace Party factions) are trying to secure 5 seats by participating in the proportional representation coalition party," pointing out that Co-representative Park and Floor Leader Jang Jeong-sook are trying to secure their own proportional representation seats. With the Minsaeng Party’s support rate hovering around 1-2%, it is possible that they will not surpass the minimum 3% party vote threshold in the general election and thus fail to obtain even one proportional representation seat.

Currently, in the Minsaeng Party, besides Co-representative Park and Floor Leader Jang, Bareunmirae Party faction member Representative Choi Do-ja is also expected to challenge for re-election via proportional representation. At a press conference the day before, Co-representative Park responded to criticism that incumbent lawmakers would be excluded from the proportional representation coalition party by saying, "Since it is a parliamentary party participating, I think the principle will change."

Controversy continues over the chairmanship of the supreme council and interpretations of the party constitution and regulations. The biggest issue is the validity of agenda submission and resolution at the supreme council. The Bareunmirae faction claims that the chairmanship of meetings belongs to Co-representative Kim Jeong-hwa, and that the supreme council and the parliamentary meeting cannot make decisions that violate the party constitution and platform. In particular, they argue that participation in the proportional representation coalition party contradicts the platform’s policy to "resolve the entrenched two-party monopoly political structure, introduce a fully proportional representation system that faithfully reflects the people's choices, and actively pursue electoral district reform."

The Alternative New Party-Democratic Peace Party faction argues that according to the party constitution and regulations, the supreme council can also be convened by Co-representative Park if more than one-third of the total members request it. The problem lies in the agenda submission. Co-representative Park claims that an emergency agenda was submitted at the request of three supreme council members, but there is no such provision anywhere. Regarding this, a key figure from the Alternative New Party told Asia Economy in a phone interview that "If there were a clause on agenda submission, it would apply, but there isn’t," and insisted, "When convening the supreme council, there must be a matter to request it."

The validity of the parliamentary meeting’s resolution is also a point of contention. The Bareunmirae faction says that the parliamentary meeting only has authority over major policies and major bills, not the authority to decide the party’s direction. Even if participation in the proportional representation coalition party is considered a major policy, it requires approval by two-thirds or more of the total members. The Alternative and Peace Party factions passed the resolution on the 17th with a majority of the total members present and a majority of those present voting in favor. They cite Article 88 of the central organization regulations as the basis and maintain that there is no problem with the resolution related to party operations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.