Kwon Seong-dong: "Cannot Hold Early Party Convention, Gradually Contacting Lee Jun-seok"

"Clearly Stated as 'Not in Party Constitution and Rules'"

Kwon Seong-dong, Acting Party Leader and Floor Leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of July 11, 2022. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Hyunju Lee and Boryeong Geum] Kwon Seong-dong, Acting Party Leader and Floor Leader of the People Power Party, stated on the 11th, "There is no way to hold an early party convention according to the party's constitution and regulations."

After the Supreme Council meeting that day, Kwon told reporters, "Just as the country has a constitution, the party has its own constitution and regulations," adding, "According to the interpretation by the Planning and Coordination Office, there is no way to hold a temporary party convention unless the party leader position is vacant."

Kwon's position is that the six-month suspension of Lee Jun-seok's party membership rights is considered an incident rather than a vacancy. He also said that Lee should respect and accept the Ethics Committee's decision. He added, "Based on consultations with several legal experts at the Planning and Coordination Office, the report concluded that the suspension of party membership rights is reasonably seen as an incident, not a vacancy of the party leader position, and all members of the Supreme Council agreed that the Planning and Coordination Office's interpretation is correct."

Regarding concerns that the acting party leader system might continue for six months, he firmly stated, "No one, whether the floor leader, Supreme Council member, or anyone else, can arbitrarily interpret the party constitution and regulations."

When asked by reporters whether he had contacted Lee Jun-seok over the weekend following the Ethics Committee's disciplinary action, he replied, "I have not. I will do so gradually," adding, "I judged that now is not the right time to make contact."

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