Uri Party Leadership, Including Party Leader Lee Boo-young, Resigns

Uri Party Chairman Lee Boo-young and members of the Central Standing Committee, including Rep. Lee Mi-kyeong, Kim Hyeok-gyu and Han Myeong-suk, resigned from their posts en masse on January 3.

The ruling party’s Planning and Advisory Committee, which assists the Central Standing Committee, has also been dissolved, leading the party into a leadership vacuum for the moment.

Under the circumstances, the ruling Uri Party is planning to hold a joint meeting between the general meeting of party members and Central Committee members, and a separate meeting of the Central Committee on January 5. The party will discuss the issue of establishing an Emergency Countermeasure Committee to manage the party until a party convention which is scheduled for April 2. Meanwhile, the Grand National Party is planning to change the party name by as early as late this month and to reshuffle the party officials around early February. GNP Chairwoman Park Geun-hye said in a press conference on January 3 that the party did not need to start the reshuffle now as if it were following the ruling party. She added that it would be better to the reorganize the party in a regular reorganization session even though some party officials already expressed their intention to resign.

Young-Chan Yoon Myoung-Gun Lee yyc11@donga.com gun43@donga.com