Ruling Saenuri Party’s Rep. Kim Tae-ho returned to the party’s supreme council on Tuesday, less than two weeks after he resigned citing the parliament’s failure to pass a set of economic bills designed to improve the people’s livelihoods.
“There was criticism that my resignation was impromptu and sudden, but that wasn’t the case at all,” Kim Tae-ho said in a press conference at the National Assembly.
“I announced my resignation deploring the fact that there is a chief, but no responsibility in South Korean politics.”
He also said the decision to return was made at the request of his colleagues, who urged him to remain in the party leadership and lead efforts to reform the party.
“If it is a path toward reviving the economy and reviving (debate on) a constitutional revision, I will take the path that leaves no regrets even if I lose everything,” he said.
On Oct. 23, Kim announced his resignation citing his apparent inability to contribute to the smooth running of parliamentary affairs, and the party’s failure to aid the Park Geun-hye administration’s economic plans.
“President Park has implored the National Assembly to pass economic stimulus legislation, saying, ‘Now is the golden time,’” Kim said at the time of his resignation.
“The parliament must look back at how it has responded. However, (lawmakers) threw salt at the president by saying that it was the ‘golden time’ for revising the Constitution.”
His expression was a reference to the traditional Korean practice of throwing salt at unwanted guests.
His resignation, coming less than four months after he was elected to the post in a national convention, caused a stir within the ruling party as few people had expected it.
Speculation was rife that the move may have been coordinated with the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in an attempt to weaken the power base of Saenuri chairman Rep. Kim Moo-sung, who recently clashed with President Park Geun-hye over whether to begin discussions on a constitutional revision.
Others suggested that Kim Tae-ho could be seeking to boost his image as a potential presidential candidate in the next election scheduled for 2017. The Saenuri chairman is currently considered a leading presidential aspirant.
By law, Park cannot seek reelection after her single five-year term ends in early 2018.
By Choi He-suk and news reports ()
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
