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Assertive Moon reignites factional struggle in Democratic Party

By Choi He-suk

Former Democratic Party presidential candidate Rep. Moon Jae-in is once again causing ripples in and outside the party by hinting at his resurgent political ambition.

Speaking with reporters on Friday, Moon implied that it would be possible for him to run in the 2017 presidential election.

In a press release about his upcoming book, Moon sharply criticized President Park Geun-hye and the ruling Saenuri Party regarding the on-going dispute over state agencies’ alleged meddling in last year’s presidential election.

“There must be an administration change in 2017. I should also contribute to that. I think that the role I play is up to the public,” Moon said on Friday.

“It is true that I was unprepared, and so was the party. Now, (I) will make preparations systematically.”

Moon also said that there were many others including independent Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon who could represent the opposition bloc in the next presidential election.

Although Moon left room for interpretation, his comments are stirring hopes and concerns for a revival of the pro-Roh Moo-hyun faction.

Although the faction held sway in the party for a number of years, it was pushed to the back burner in the run up to the Dec. 19 presidential election over concerns that Moon’s ties to the late former president were keeping moderate voters at bay.

Since then, the faction has been pushed into an increasingly tight corner. No lawmaker with ties to the faction succeeded in gaining seats on the supreme council in last year’s leadership race. However, the party’s current predicament has been partially laid at the feet of the pro-Roh faction with critics saying that hardliners within the party continue to have too much influence.

Regardless of the intentions of Moon and the faction, the comments have incited strong criticism, even from within the DP.

“Rep. Moon should take responsibility for what he promised instead of making trouble for the DP,” Rep. Cho Kyoung-tae said, referring to Moon’s repeated statement that he will take responsibility if any illegal actions are found to have been taken with regards to the 2007 inter-Korean summit transcript. Cho, a third term lawmaker from Busan, is one of the most outspoken critics of the DP’s pro-Roh faction.

As for how he thought Moon should take responsibility, Cho said that Moon should decide on his action but that it could be “more than” resigning his parliamentary seat.

Cho also indirectly blamed the pro-Roh faction and Moon for the DP’s declining support rate. Saying that he believed that hardliners taking power would lead to the downfall of the country, Cho said that the DP’s hardliners have “moved against the will of the people and amplified (people’s) disappointment in the DP.”

(cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)