Go to contents

‘Abscess has popped,' ruling party chief says of election defeat

‘Abscess has popped,' ruling party chief says of election defeat

Posted April. 15, 2016 07:20,   

Updated April. 15, 2016 07:23

한국어

Kim Moo-sung, chairman of the ruling Saenuri Party, spent Wednesday at Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital getting an intravenous injection to recover from the fatigue from the parliamentary election campaign, before leaving it on Thursday morning. Seemingly unable to get a shave, he looked haggard. After spending several hours at his residence, he showed up in a suit and tie at a disbandment ceremony for his party’s election committee. He said that he will “take full responsibility” for the party’s election defeat and resign from the party chairmanship he had over the last 640 days.

Immediately after announcing his resignation, he left the National Assembly’s main hall for the National Assembly Members' Hall. “I had no idea that we would suffer such a huge defeat,” he told reporters. “An abscess that had been festering finally popped.” He seemed to mean that the Saenuri Party had it coming because of its factional feuds and disputes over candidate nominations.

Saying that he would go to the party headquarters to take care of remaining businesses and “delete his traces,” he confessed he had not expected such a “huge defeat” to the extent that his party would lose its majority position in the parliament.

Asked if Kim’s advocacy of a primary-based nomination system resulted in a failure, he said the system should be maintained, indicating that the party’s “strategic” top-down nomination had an adversary effect on the election results.

Regarding the responsibility of the pro-Park Geun-hye faction that caused disputes over nominations, he said that while the Park loyalists could attack him for the defeat, they would end up undermining themselves. “It is time that we feared the public sentiment,” he noted. He declined to comment on the proposal that his party allow those who bolted out of the party to return.

In the parliamentary elections four years ago, Kim failed to win the party’s nomination but chose to stay with it to help its election campaigns. As a result, he was considered one of the best contributors to the party’s election victory. This time, however, he is held responsible for the defeat and has to step down from the party’s helms. One of Kim’s close confidants said that his political future depends on how he performs from now on as the ruling party has no presidential contenders who stand out.



강경석기자 coolup@donga.com