United Future Party to Decide on 'Kim Jong-in Emergency Committee' Today

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The elected members of the United Future Party will conclude a final debate on the party's leadership system on the 22nd, including the 'Kim Jong-in Emergency Response Committee (ERC)' system. A plan to re-push the removal of the term limit, which failed due to the previous cancellation of the Standing National Committee, is likely. During the workshop held the previous day, the elected members also had a fierce discussion about the causes of the election defeat.

The United Future Party held a workshop for elected members at the National Assembly's main building Budget and Accounts Committee meeting room from 10 a.m. that day and conducted discussions. In this two-day workshop following the previous day, a plan to delete the party constitution clause that scheduled a party convention at the end of August related to the 'Kim Jong-in ERC' was discussed.

During the unification process, the United Future Party included in its party constitution the provision to hold a party convention and elect new leadership by the end of August. However, after the election defeat, as the transition to an ERC became likely, they tried to hold the Standing National Committee to abolish this clause. But the Standing National Committee was canceled due to a lack of quorum, so the ERC term remains fixed until the end of August. Therefore, a plan to put the ERC transition to a vote and delete the clause limiting the term is being strongly considered.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

If this happens, former General Election Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in will be able to lead the ERC until February or March next year. Among the elected members, opinions are divided on whether the ERC term should be until the end of the year, February, or the end of March. The end-of-year option is physically impossible considering the regular National Assembly schedule at the end of December.

The February option guarantees the ERC term until early next year but does not grant the nomination rights for the April by-elections, whereas the end-of-March option includes granting nomination rights, marking a significant difference. It is known that former Chairman Kim requested to guarantee his term until the end of March. This is because if the ERC does not hold the party's nomination rights, the momentum for reform could significantly decline.

However, within the party, there are many voices opposing the 'Kim Jong-in ERC' having nomination rights, so it remains to be seen whether consensus on the term can be reached. United Future Party lawmaker Sung Il-jong appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' that morning and warned, "The process should be transparent, and only good candidates should be presented; it should not be done based on party power or personal political ambitions."

Meanwhile, at the elected members' workshop held on the 21st, various plans for party reconstruction were discussed. Elected member Kim Hee-guk asked in a statement, "How should we respond to the nuclear bomb of emergency disaster relief funds, nationwide employment insurance system, basic income system, and the public concept of land?" Lawmaker Ha Tae-kyung pointed out, "The most important discourse for the 2030 generation is 'gender,' but our party is unaware of this." During the discussion, proposals for fostering young talent, such as mandatory nomination of young candidates and the establishment of a 'Youth Office,' were also raised.

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