hankyoreh

After two days of deliberation, Kim Gi-hyeon decided to step down as leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) on Wednesday. The decision comes nine months after his election in March and one day after PPP lawmaker Chang Je-won, one of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s closest aides, announced that he would not be running in the upcoming general election in April 2024.

With only four months left until the general election, the ruling party will transition to emergency leadership by an interim committee.

“As of today, I am stepping down as the leader of the People Power Party,” Kim wrote on Facebook on Wednesday just after 5 pm. “The success of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration and the victory of the PPP in the general election are the imperatives of history and the times, and I intend to fulfill my duty by holding myself responsible for certain events.”

“I, as the party leader, am responsible for the situation the party is currently in, and any criticism that follows is mine alone. The party must not become divided over my positions on certain issues,” he went on.

The presidential office initially asked Kim to remain as party leader but to refrain from running in the general election. Kim reportedly refused to comply, choosing instead to resign as party leader and run for a local seat (representing Ulsan’s Nam District).

“I will do my best to prevent the tragedy of a feckless Democratic Party gaining power in the parliament from repeating itself,” Kim also wrote.

Kim, who was elected to lead the party at its convention in March with the support of Yoon, has quit less than halfway through his two-year term. He formed the party’s innovation committee and stayed on as leader after the party’s crushing defeat in the October Gangseo District mayoral by-election, but found himself backed into a corner after rejecting the committee’s request that the party’s old guard and those close to Yoon not run in April’s election.

The early termination of the innovation committee on Monday was followed by Chang withdrawing from contention on Tuesday, then Kim’s resignation on Wednesday.

Kim’s resignation marks the second time that the PPP has lost a party leader in the last year and a half, with his predecessor Lee Jun-seok having left his post as a result of disciplinary measures in July of 2022.

Following Kim’s resignation, the PPP entered an emergency leadership system. The party constitution and rules state that a new leader can be elected when the outgoing leader has at least six months remaining in their term, which opens up the possibility for an ad hoc convention to elect a new leader.

But with less than 120 days left until the general election, analysts are suggesting that the transition to an emergency interim leadership committee system may be a more viable option.

Floor leader Yun Jae-ok, who has taken over as acting party leader, said Wednesday that he planned to “share a position after a meeting with senior [lawmakers] in their third term or higher at 8 am on Dec. 14.”

With Kim’s resignation coming on the heels of Chang’s decision to bow out, observers are watching to see whether it leads to the departure of other pro-Yoon lawmakers, including Kweon Seong-dong, Lee Chul-gyu, Yoon Han-hong, Lee Yong, Park Seong-min and Park Soo-young.

By Son Hyun-soo, staff reporter; Shin Min-jung, staff reporter; Seo Young-ji, staff reporter

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