By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Leaders of the minor opposition Democratic Labor Party (DLP) will resign en masse to take responsibility for the party's poor performance in the Dec. 19 presidential election, a party spokesman said Wednesday.
The party will launch an emergency committee Saturday. Either Rep. Sim Sang-jeung or Roh Hoe-chan who failed to win the party's ticket to run in the election will likely lead the committee, party sources said.
DLP candidate Kwon Young-ghil placed fifth with 3 percent of the total eligible votes, lower than the 3.9 percent that he garnered in the 2002 election.
The figure is lower than that of Moon Kook-hyun of the Creative Korea Party (CKP) who entered politics just a few months before the election. Moon, the former CEO of Yuhan-Kimberly, got 5.8 percent.
``To strengthen matters and organize the emergency committee efficiently, party leaders including Supreme Council members have to resign,'' party Chairman Moon Sung-hyun said. Few party officials expressed objections.
Party members said that Kwon, a three-term lawmaker who unsuccessfully ran in the presidential race for the third consecutive time in a row, should step back from the party leadership.
Sim and Roh are favored to become head of the emergency committee, party sources said.
However, it remains to be seen whether they will accept the position because both lawmakers will likely seek reelection in the National Assembly elections slated for April 9, they said.
The Democratic Party (DP), whose candidate Rhee In-je placed sixth in the presidential race, is also struggling with efforts toward internal innovation.
Lee Myung-bak of the conservative opposition Grand National Party (GNP) won the election by a landslide with 48.7 percent of the vote.
ksy@koreatimes.co.kr
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