Uri Party Forms Emergency Committee

The ruling Uri Party has decided to run an interim emergency committee.

On June 7, the above was confirmed in the general assembly and a joint meeting of Uri lawmaker-supreme committee in a row in the Uri Party’s headquarters in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul.

“The emergency committee will be commissioned comprehensively for the Supreme committee with contingency power, including the right to revise rules of the party and the right of personnel management, for substantial leadership,” Woo Sang-Ho, the spokesman of the Uri party, said during a press briefing.

It is the fourth contingency committee since the creation of the Uri Party in November 2003. The ruling party has decided to entrust a group of eight senior party members with the job of selecting new party leaders to replace supreme council members.

Assigning the oldest member, Lee Young-hee (75, Uri’s chief advisor), on the same day in another meeting after the joint meeting, the personnel selection board agreed to finish choosing members of the emergency committee at least by the end of this week.

The personnel board is set to hold its first meeting at the National Assembly building at 11:00 a.m. today. The emergency committee’s tenancy lasts until February 2007 unless a primary is held again.

In the meantime, the resignation of the two leading supreme members, Kim Geun-tae and Kim Doo-guan, brought the February 18 supreme committee to an end.

How to select the members-

Kim Geun-tae is likely to be named as the head of the interim committee.

Out of eight personnel board members, Lee Yong-hee, Lim Chae-jeong, Shin Ki-nam and Moon Hee-sang agreed to appoint Kim Geun-tae.

Kim Han-gil seemed to vote for Kim Geun-tae because he is unlikely to decline Chung Dong-young’s support for Kim Geun-tae, the former chairman of the Uri Party.

Yoo Jay-kun, who has insisted for a candidate with balanced mindset, toned down his position, saying that he has never opposed to Kim Geun-tae.

However, the voices against Kim Geun-tae have not subsumed completely.

In the general assembly, Cho Kyeong-tae, an Uri Party lawmaker, claimed that “we need to rule out the heads of particular circles in the party or president hopefuls when deciding on emergency committee members, and I understand that more than 20 -30 lawmakers agree with me.”

The interim committee is endowed with more power than chairman and supreme committee. In this regard, the party members are possible to be split over the degree of the power and the selection of its members.