Alternative and Future: "Early Election of Floor Leader Not Acceptable... Election Should Be Fought with Additive Politics"

"Song’s Term as Floor Leader Should Be Upheld"

"Alternative and Future," a group of reform-minded and non-mainstream members within the People Power Party, stated on April 28 that there is ongoing discussion within the party about Floor Leader Song Eon-seok resigning before the local elections and forming a new parliamentary leadership. The group said, "Early resignation or election of a new floor leader is not desirable."

Lee Seongkwon, a lawmaker of the People Power Party, met with reporters after the Alternative and Future breakfast meeting that day and said, "The Democratic Party of Korea will have both the party leader and the floor leader at the helm of the nationwide local elections. If a floor leader election takes place, it will by no means be helpful for the local elections," adding his stance.

Within the People Power Party, there has been discussion of Floor Leader Song resigning early to match the Democratic Party's floor leader election schedule. The idea is that, for the full-fledged discussion of forming the second half of the 22nd National Assembly, "new wine should be put into new wineskins." However, there are also opinions within the party that resignation at this time is not appropriate, since the next floor leader could have a significant impact on the party leadership structure after the local elections. Lawmakers Kim Do-eup, Jeong Jeom-sik, and Sung Il-jong are being mentioned as possible candidates.

Regarding this, Assemblyman Lee said, "If we are to elect a new floor leader now, it will require an election announcement, nominee recruitment, and electioneering, which unfortunately coincides with the period when the local elections are entering full swing," adding, "In the case of the Democratic Party, it is not even a contested election; according to their party constitution and rules, the term of the parliamentary leadership is set to early May, so the current floor leader is expected to complete the term and be recommended as a sole candidate. Therefore, our party’s current floor leader's term should also be upheld."

At the breakfast meeting, opinions were also exchanged regarding election situations in each region. Assemblyman Lee said, "It was mentioned that all standards should be aligned for election victory," and added, "With this election, there was a suggestion that members of the leadership and party members in the conservative camp need to pool their wisdom and create synergies, moving in the direction of additive politics." This remark is interpreted as considering figures such as former leader Han Donghoon, who is running as an independent candidate in the Busan Buk-gu Gap by-election.

Meanwhile, Alternative and Future held a breakfast meeting for the first time in about two months since meeting with Chair Jang Donghyeok last March. Around 10 members attended the meeting. When asked whether the issue of Chair Jang’s position was discussed, Assemblyman Lee replied, "We agreed not to talk about the current leadership, so I will not comment," adding, "I’ll leave it up to your imagination."

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