Reform Party Emergency Committee Chair Lee Ki-in Calls on Chun Ha-ram and Lee Ju-young to Run in Gyeonggi
Lee Ki-in, emergency response committee chair of the Reform Party, held a press conference at the National Assembly on the 17th and formally called on Chun Ha-ram, the party's floor leader and a sitting proportional representation lawmaker, and Rep. Lee Ju-young to run in the southern Gyeonggi region in the next general election. At the press conference, Lee said, "Floor Leader Chun applied for the open recruitment for the Suncheon organizing committee chair post," adding, "I will reject this application." Lee, who took office as emergency committee chair last month, declared as part of the party's renewal effort, "We will prepare for the 'Battle of Southern Gyeonggi' in the next general election starting now," and urged Chun and others to promptly finalize their electoral districts, meet with residents, and give party members concrete answers on their planned districts and plans for building a regional base. He said that if they failed to follow through, he would exercise his powers as emergency committee chair under the party constitution and rules.
Six hours after the press conference, Floor Leader Chun posted a statement on Facebook, calling the decision "a bolt from the blue" and demanding a review of the rejection. He said Suncheon had been his sole political base in the six years since his first run for office. Chun did not respond to Yonhap News Agency's request for comment that day. Rep. Lee Ju-young is reportedly reviewing her district in line with the party's strategy.
"I, too, am a target of renewal," said Lee Ki-in, adding, "All past leadership, including the emergency committee, senior party officials, and those who received proportional representation slots in the last general election will be excluded from the next general election's proportional representation nominations without exception." The idea is that those who have led the party should take responsibility for a district, while proportional representation slots will be open only to new talent. The renewal plan also includes placing science and technology talent and outside experts in the top proportional representation slots for the next general election, along with bans on consecutive terms for proportional representation lawmakers, self-nomination by party leadership, and the creation of satellite parties.
The Reform Party launched the emergency committee system after a rocky transition following the resignation of party leader and founder Lee Jun-seok on the 26th of last month. Former lawmaker Cho Eung-cheon was initially floated as a candidate for emergency committee chair but declined, and Floor Leader Chun, who held the authority to appoint the chair, reportedly named Lee without consulting former leader Lee. The renewal drive that began immediately after the leadership change has exposed internal conflict within the leadership from the start, and Floor Leader Chun did not respond to Yonhap's request for comment that day.
