The leadership of the People Power Party (PPP) clashed head-on again on Saturday over the future of Chairman Chang Dong-hyeok. It marked the fourth public dispute over Chang's resignation since the party's defeat in the local elections. "No matter who says what, I will not resign," Chang said, expressing his firm refusal to step down.
Woo Jae-jun, the PPP's youth supreme council member, again called for Chang's resignation at a supreme council meeting held at the National Assembly that day. "The current leadership came in after the impeachment and carries a strong by-election character," he said. "Its role should have ended with this local election." Directing his remarks at Chang, he stressed, "When all members within the party look like enemies, it is time to stop being a leader," adding, "For the party to move toward becoming one team, Chairman Chang must step down."
Immediately after Woo's public remarks, the pro-leadership faction pushed back strongly. Cho Gwang-han, a supreme council member belonging to the pro-leadership faction, hit back, saying, "A politician's language must have restraint and dignity." Kim Min-soo, another supreme council member, raised his voice, saying, "I cannot recall anything Supreme Council Member Woo has done except publicly insult the party chairman," adding, "If you have such a strong sense of responsibility, and if you've talked about resignation, then resign yourself."
The dispute among supreme council members over Chang's future is the fourth since the local elections. Earlier, Woo first proposed a "collective resignation of the leadership" on the 11th, and on the 15th, Supreme Council Member Yang Hyang-ja lent support to the call. On the 18th, Cho and Woo clashed. At a closed-door meeting that day, criticism emerged over the repeated exposure of rifts among supreme council members. Shin Dong-wook, a supreme council member, pointed out, "The supreme council must not become a place that constantly demands the chairman's resignation."
Chang repeatedly expressed his resolute refusal to resign. Through his social network service (SNS), he conveyed the content of his closed-door remarks: "No matter what decision the plenary session makes, no matter who says what at the supreme council, I will not resign." Chang did not appear at the party's plenary session that day either.
Earlier, Chang had hinted at the possibility of disciplinary action against some reformist lawmakers, including Woo, saying, "Many disciplinary requests have come in regarding matters that were put off before the local elections, and now is the time to answer them." The party's ethics committee plans to hold a meeting on the 6th of next month and begin reviewing disciplinary agenda items.
