Lee Jang-dong, a member of the People Power Party, announced his resignation three days after he was appointed as secretary-general in Kim Moon-soo's presidential candidate system.
Representative Lee was responsible for leading the People Power Party's presidential primary process as the overall campaign chairman in Kim's candidate camp.
Accordingly, Kwon Young-se, the emergency committee chairman, requested an understanding from the current secretary-general, Lee Yang-soo, and maintained his position.
The secretary-general is a position that oversees the party's management and is counted among the three key roles along with the floor leader and policy committee chairperson. During the presidential election period, they hold the responsibility for managing approximately 50 billion won in election expenses.
After Kim was elected as the presidential candidate during the party convention held on the 3rd, he informed the party leadership of his intention to replace the secretary-general with Representative Lee.
There are growing concerns within the party regarding the will of Kim to unify with independent former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, as there was a push to exclude Lee Yang-soo, the secretary-general who advocated for a rapid unification. It is known that Kim's camp countered this by claiming it is the right of the candidate with priority over party affairs.
Representative Lee also noted that he was actively in favor of pursuing unification. He even called for an emergency general assembly of lawmakers on the evening of the 5th.
On the same day, Secretary-general Lee posted on his Facebook a capture of Kim's response during the final debate on the 30th of last month, where Kim was asked, 'Should the unification with acting Han Duck-soo happen immediately after the party convention (on May 3)?' and raised an 'O'.
It seems to be interpreted as a veiled criticism of his lukewarm stance on unification with the former prime minister once he was elected as the presidential candidate.
There is a growing atmosphere of disagreement within the party regarding the pressure surrounding Kim. Lawmaker Woo Jae-jun remarked on Facebook, 'If you are a member of our party, isn't it our duty to support and cheer for our party's candidate?' and noted, 'Immediately after being elected, exerting pressure for unification with an independent candidate is not only neglecting Kim Moon-soo but also shows a lack of consideration for other candidates who competed together.'