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May 04, 2007
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| The end may finally be near for the Uri Party. A day after former Uri chairman Chung Dong-young shocked his colleagues by announcing plans to withdraw from the pro-government party, Kim Geun-tae, another pivotal figure in the group, said he believed the Uri Party should be dissolved within the month. “A new alliance group should be formed by mid-June,” Kim said yesterday, citing the date the struggling party’s leaders had fixed earlier this year to turn around the group’s fortunes after more than 30 lawmakers quit Uri. “If the party does not dissolve by then, I will have to think whether I should fish or cut bait,” Kim said. Chung and Kim control the two largest factions within the Uri and their abandonment of the party may prompt a second wave of walkouts. Noting President Roh Moo-hyun’s criticism a day earlier of factions seeking to dissolve the party, insiders said they viewed Kim’s words as a roundabout way of announcing his own imminent departure from the Uri. “Kim wants to say he will walk away within this month,” said an official allied with Kim who declined to be named. At a press conference yesterday, Kim criticized Roh for his remarks bemoaning the state of Korea’s politics and presidential hopefuls. “At this point, his evaluation of presidential candidates is no help. He should pay more attention to the inter-Korean summit instead. He probably wants to say more about politics because his approval ratings are going up.” Roh quit the Uri Party earlier this year, but his departure has done little to ease the group’s troubles. In an interview yesterday with the JoongAng Ilbo, Chung Dong-young also mentioned the need for the Uri Party to break up in order to allow a new liberal alliance to emerge. The Blue House did not respond officially, but state affairs officer Lee Gang-chul wrote on a Blue House Web site last night: “Despite the fact that Korean politics is endlessly falling into chaos, Kim was once a leader of the Uri, and he can’t demand that his party dissolve. If you feel any responsibility, you should try using all your energy to revive the party.” By Lee Ga-young JoongAng Ilbo/ Lee Min-a Staff Writer [mina@joongang.co.kr] |
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