Two rival factions within the ruling Saenuri Party continued to clash with one another Monday, as the conservative ruling camp’s factional strife reached a boiling point following the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.

Adding more chaos to the conservative camp, which is on the verge of a breakup, the party’s Floor Leader Rep. Chung Jin-suk called it quits, saying he wanted to take responsibility for the president’s impeachment.

“The governing party bears the same amount of responsibility as the president, when the president is suspended from office,” Rep. Chung said. The party’s chief policymaker Kim Gwang-lim also expressed his intention to quit.

Infighting over control of the party has been raging at Saenuri, following the parliamentary impeachment of President Park last week.

A group of lawmakers opposing the current leadership led by Rep. Lee Jung-hyun singled out eight party members, including the party chief, as “the entourage” of the president’s now-infamous confidante Choi Soon-sil, calling for their immediate ouster from the party.

Choi, a friend of Park for 40 years, is alleged to have manipulated power from behind the scenes.

“They have manipulated the government system, betrayed the people’s mandate and neglected the Choi Soon-sil scandal,” said Rep. Hwang Young-chul, a second-term lawmaker who represents the dissenting group. “They have to leave the party immediately.”



The eight accused are: Saenuri Chairman Lee, two Supreme Council members, Reps. Cho Won-jin and Lee Jang-woo, and Reps. Seo Chung-won, Choi Kyung-hwan, Hong Moon-jong, Yoon Sang-hyun and Kim Jin-tae. 

They are key figures representing the party’s mainstream faction loyal to President Park. Dominating leadership positions in the party, they had previously wielded influence over the party’s decisions, but have recently been under mounting criticism, with the president’s fall from grace. Yet, throughout the presidential scandal, they stood steadfastly behind Park and refused to give up leadership positions in Saenuri.

Party chief Lee, along with the others, refused to step down from their positions or leave the party.

Instead, they demanded the departure of Reps. Kim Moo-sung and Yoo Seung-min, the two bigwigs of the rebels’ group who were once the president’s key allies.

“I think they are the epitome of betrayal and treason,” said Rep. Lee Jang-woo who sits on the party’s top decision-making Supreme Council.

The conservative party’s factional feud was evident, when the parliament passed the motion to impeach Park in a surprising 234-56 vote. This means that at least 62 Saenuri lawmakers voted for the motion in a secret ballot, which almost doubled the expectations of the faction that supported the opposition-mounted bill.

The three opposition parties and independents control 172 votes in the 300-seat National Assembly.

It was not the first time that Saenuri’s factional strife has made headlines. In the lead-up to the general election that took place in April, they clashed over how to nominate candidates for the election. After the pro-Park faction refused to nominate anti-Park lawmakers, they decided to quit and run as independents.

But some experts say that neither faction will bolt from Saenuri and form a new political entity.

“I don’t think we will see the party split,” said Lee Sang-hui, a political analyst who worked as a presidential aide during the previous Lee Myung-bak government. “Building a new party requires massive money and legitimate cause. I don’t think both factions have them.” 

By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)