PPP Chief Jang Dong-hyuk Meets Ahn Cheol-soo to Exchange Views on Party's Direction

Jang Dong-hyuk, chairman of the People Power Party, met with Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo for about 30 minutes at the National Assembly members' office building in Seoul on the 13th to exchange views on the direction the party should take. During the meeting, Jang thanked Ahn, saying, "As a senior lawmaker, thank you for keeping the party grounded and playing a central role" regarding the party's campaign against rental regulations and other pending intra-party issues.

Rep. Ahn reportedly responded, "The party is an organization where people heading in the same direction band together and fight," in an apparent criticism of the pro-Han Dong-hoon faction's role in dividing the party. A party official said, "Chairman Jang seems to be trying to secure the senior lawmakers who back him as reliable allies." (Yonhap News report)

Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun demanded on Facebook the same day that "the party must establish an independent fact-finding committee" regarding revelations of disciplinary manipulation by the ethics committee. Yoon said, "Since Hwang Kyung-sung, a sitting member of the ethics committee who was directly involved in the disciplinary decision, has raised the issue, this is a serious matter on which the credibility of the entire party hinges." Ethics committee member Hwang Kyung-sung, who has refused the party leadership's summons, warned that unless he receives an apology and the disciplinary action is withdrawn, he will release the evidence.