People Power Party Completes Party Charter Amendment for Emergency Committee Launch... Approved with 'Applause'

Calls for Kwon Seong-dong's Resignation Emerge

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Lee Ji-eun and Geum Bo-ryeong] On the 30th, the People Power Party held a party caucus and completed the revision of the party constitution and regulations to launch a new Emergency Response Committee.

Park Hyung-soo, the party floor spokesperson for the People Power Party, told reporters after the caucus, when asked if the party constitution amendment was approved by applause, "Yes, it was approved by applause."

He added, "The amendment to the party constitution is not originally a matter to be decided at the caucus. However, we reported it to the caucus and gathered opinions in the form of approval there to follow the procedure of submitting it to the Standing National Committee."

On the same day, Yoo Sang-beom, head of the party's legal support team, reported an amendment to Article 96, Paragraph 1 of the party constitution, which defines an emergency situation allowing the transition to an Emergency Response Committee when four or more of the five elected Supreme Council members are vacant. Currently, the Supreme Council has a total of nine members, of which five are elected members, including one youth Supreme Council member.

Earlier, since the court suspended the duties of Emergency Response Committee Chairman Joo Ho-young on the grounds that it was not an "emergency situation," the leadership plans to add a clear provision defining an emergency situation in the party constitution and regulations to establish a new Emergency Response Committee.

Spokesperson Park said, "A total of 87 lawmakers attended the caucus, and 66 stayed until the end," adding, "There were various opinions not only on the party constitution amendment but also on how the party will recover going forward, the leadership system, and even the issue of Floor Leader Kwon Seong-dong's position."

He continued, "Lawmakers who spoke today said that Floor Leader Kwon himself mentioned his resignation issue at yesterday's Emergency Response Committee meeting and said he would express his position after managing this situation, so many thought it would be right to respect that.” Floor spokesperson Yang Geum-hee also said, "Most lawmakers, except for a few, expressed the opinion that it would be better for Floor Leader Kwon to stay until the end to manage the party and take responsibility for his position."

However, voices calling for Floor Leader Kwon's accountability were not insignificant. Several lawmakers, including Seo Byung-soo and Ahn Cheol-soo, who have the authority to convene the National Committee, as well as senior lawmakers Cho Kyung-tae and Yoon Sang-hyun, demanded Kwon's resignation.

In particular, Seo has refused to convene the National Committee for the new Emergency Response Committee. Regarding this, Spokesperson Park said, "That was Seo's position until this morning, and there has been no statement after gathering the consensus through the caucus," adding, "Our party's legal advisory committee will meet Seo to explain and request the convening of the Standing National Committee."

He added, "Our party constitution states that if more than one-fourth of the Standing National Committee members request a meeting, it must be convened," emphasizing, "It is not optional; it must be done." If Seo continues to refuse to convene, it is interpreted that more than one-fourth of the Standing National Committee members will request a meeting to open the National Committee.

Former Representative Lee Jun-seok plans to file an additional injunction against the Emergency Response Committee. When asked by reporters whether reconciliation attempts were made, Spokesperson Park said, "Some lawmakers individually contacted others, but there has been no official action by the party." The caucus, which started at 10:30 a.m., took a break at noon and resumed at 2 p.m., concluding around 4:30 p.m.

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