Main opposition floor leader at a crossroads for political future

Now that negotiations between rival parties on a proposed special law on the Sewol ferry disaster, Park Young-sun, the floor leader of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), is contemplating on her political future. When she returned to work in mid-October amid an internal feud over her leadership, she said she would make her last efforts for the negotiations before stepping down from her post "regardless of the result." Now, she is make a choice for her political future.

Park is said to have taken her resignation from the floor leadership as a done deal just before a compromise was reached on the Sewel bill Tuesday night. She had reportedly prepared a resignation statement as she went to the negotiating table.

However, Park Jie-won, an influential lawmaker of the NPAD and a member of the party`s emergency committee, argued during a radio talk show Wednesday that she should stay on her job because the negotiations have been concluded and it was necessary for her to take care of follow-up measures. Some observers say Park Jie-won was concerned that Park Young-sun`s resignation would increase the pro-Roh Moo-hyun faction`s influence in the committee.

Still, pro-Roh hardliners are poised to challenge Park Young-sun`s leadership due to the "unsatisfactory results" of the negotiation. Chung, Sye-kyun, a member of the emergency committee, told reporters Wednesday that he was not satisfied by the negation results. Kim Kyung-hyub, a pro-Roh lawmaker, was also critical about the negotiation results, saying he did not agree.

On early Wednesday after the negotiation was concluded, the embattled NPAD floor leader wrote in her Twitter post, "The special law on the Sewol, the saddest law in the world, has been concluded in a very sad manner. Why is it so hard to wipe the tears of the weak?"