Does Moon Jae-in have leadership to save the main opposition party?

Rep. Kim Han-gil left the Minjoo Party of Korea, formerly called the New Politics Alliance for Democracy on Sunday. Co-founder of the main opposition party with Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, Kim was also a key senior figure of the non-mainstream of the Minjoo Party. “I can’t just wait for the looming defeat of the general elections being stuck in the hegemony (dominated by the pro-Roh faction) sticking to factional gains,” Kim told reporters indicating his will to join the new party created by Ahn. “We need to break the hostile symbiotic bipartisan relationship that is no longer relevant.”

With Kim’s departure from the party, the (tentatively named) new Ahn Cheol-soo party has good news in forming a floor negotiation group. Kim can be called as a “designer of a new party” in a good sense and “a party destroyer” in a bad sense given his defection the former Open Uri Party with 22 incumbent lawmakers in February 2007 and his role at the United New Democratic Party foundation in August 2007. Kim and other eight incumbent lawmakers have left the New Politics Alliance for Democracy following Ahn. Ten or more lawmakers are likely to leave the party by mid-January. If the new Ahn Cheol-soo party forms a floor negotiation group consisting of over 20 incumbent lawmakers by Feb. 15, it can win 8.8 billion Korean won (7.47 million U.S. dollars) in government subsidies for the general elections.

Moon Jae-in, chairman of the main opposition Minjoo Party, said at a media conference upon scouting Kim Byeong-gwan, board chairman of Webzen Games, a venture company, on Sunday, “We’ll present new figures in constituencies where our party lawmakers decided not to run for elections or lawmakers left the party. It reminds of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun who said in 2007 when a series of lawmakers left his party, “We can’t just wait for candidates from outside forever.” If Rep. Park Young-son follows suit after Kim, the Minjoo could revert to a party consisting of only the pro-Roh faction and the pro-Roh student movement group.

Before leaving the party, Kim said in a press conference six problems including the party’s complacency as the main opposition party and its politics, which roots out those who do not give in to its hegemony. Moon who is supposed to look back on six problems and the pro-Roh faction are said to have chanted “advance centered on Moon” in the Bongha Village on the first day of this year. It remains to be seen whether they can save the tilted ship.

In the midst of a dire situation in the new year, voters may change their perspective on the party if Moon, at the helm of the shipwrecked ship, leads changes in the party by actively engaging in negotiations over economic stimulus bills including a labor reform bill. Nevertheless, the Minjoo Party has heavy political responsibilities as the main opposition party with over 110 seats.