'Yunhaekgwan' Kwon Seong-dong Expresses Concern Over Formation of Pro-Yoon Faction Study Group

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Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, is attending the party floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the 10th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Kwon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, expressed opposition to the formation of a pro-Yoon faction (pro-Yoon Seok-yeol faction) parliamentary group that appears to be an unofficial party-government consultative body. This is interpreted as a concern that it could hinder the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's governance and that the formation of a specific factional power could lead to division within the party.

On the 10th, after the National Assembly floor negotiation meeting, Kwon Seong-dong told reporters, "I have no intention of obstructing or blocking study groups within the party (on the contrary, I encourage them), but since there is an official party-government consultative body, it is appropriate to refrain from parliamentary groups that could be mistaken as another party-government consultative body and cause misunderstandings." He also said on a radio program that day, "If such a group has the intention, I will take the lead as the floor leader to block it because it could lead to party division." He pointed out that the formation of parliamentary groups could be seen as an expansion of a specific faction's power, leading to party division. Kwon expressed concern, saying, "During the Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak administrations, such groups existed, but many examples show that they eventually led to party division, failure to extend the regime, and the party's downfall."

The parliamentary group that Kwon and others are concerned about is the ‘Mindeulle’ (tentative name, an abbreviation of "Minshim Deureo Bolla," meaning "Let's listen to public opinion"), led by lawmakers Lee Cheol-gyu and Lee Yong-ho, which is set to launch on the 15th. Although described as an open platform for all lawmakers, it is reported that about 30 pro-Yoon faction lawmakers will participate in Mindeulle, leading to interpretations that the pro-Yoon factionalization is becoming more active.

Earlier, on the previous day, Representative Lee Jun-seok also expressed a negative stance to reporters on his way back from Ukraine, saying, "I don't quite understand the purpose of the group," and "Since the official party-government-national consultative body is already operating, I don't think there is a situation to form a separate private organization." He also sharply criticized, saying, "The term 'pro-Yoon group' is quite hurtful to supporters and the public who lost the regime through the pro-Park and Jin-Park controversies," and added, "Those attending the group should declare it as a simple social gathering, and if it is a study group, I don't know what they will study, but I hope government officials are not involved."

Within Mindeulle, there seems to be a cautious atmosphere warning against overinterpretation, likely due to concerns about internal party worries. A senior lawmaker who expressed willingness to participate in Mindeulle said, "I verbally agreed to participate yesterday," and added, "It should be a pure group. If it is done under the direction of the Presidential Office, I will strongly oppose it."

Besides the pro-Yoon faction, other next-generation party leadership contenders have also formed study groups to consolidate their power. Lawmaker Kim Ki-hyun revealed the plan for a study group called ‘Innovation 24, New Future,’ which aims to be an in-party think tank supporting the success of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, and sent an official letter on the 6th encouraging People Power Party lawmakers to participate. Lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo has also announced plans to launch a study group.

On the other hand, within the Democratic Party, which suffered consecutive defeats in the presidential and local elections, parliamentary study groups are rather declining. After the local election defeat, on the 3rd, former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon and former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun declared the disbandment of their social gathering. This is to avoid situations that could be misunderstood as factional politics for the time being, but it is interpreted as an intention to check the Lee Jae-myung faction, which has begun to concentrate power within the party.

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