Kweon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, announced on the 5th that he would resign from the floor leader position to take responsibility for the defeat in the 21st presidential election. However, he criticized the reasons for this election defeat, including the martial law situation and impeachment trial, as a painful reprimand for division, emphasizing the need for internal unity.
During a meeting of lawmakers held at 10:30 a.m. that day, Kweon stated, "My responsibility as the floor leader is by no means light. I have no intention of evading that responsibility or making excuses. To rebuild conservatism, we need to start anew from a blank slate," adding, "I will resign from the floor leader position myself."
He explained, "When I took on the floor leader position, I mentioned that it felt like holding a poisoned chalice. I am a five-term lawmaker and had previously served as the floor leader. However, someone had to step up at that time to manage the national crisis and the party's confusion, so I took on the responsibility again."
Kweon added, "To defend the 100 seats needed to block the unreasonable enforcement of harmful laws by the large opposition party, to prevent the party from being excessively swept up in public energy, to maintain unity and prevent division ahead of the presidential election, I endured ongoing provocations and insults from certain factions within the party."
Regarding the results of this presidential election, he stated, "Beyond the harsh judgment on the emergency martial law and impeachment of the President, we received a comprehensive judgment as the ruling party on the failures of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration over the past three years."
He emphasized that internal division was also a reason for the election defeat. Kweon noted, "In particular, I painfully acknowledge that the factional conflicts and divisions within the party, which intensified after the historic defeat in the 22nd general election, hindered the unity of our supporters as one team."
He added, "We cannot have any more division. We must unite. Now is the time for moderates and conservatives to think about what efforts we need to make for harmony and reform from our respective positions."
Kweon reaffirmed, "This election defeat is not simply a judgment on the emergency martial law and impeachment of the President; it is a painful reprimand for the division within the ruling People Power Party."
He added, "In particular, many citizens and party members are not only disappointed but also angry about the behavior of shirking responsibilities even in an election that could determine the fate of the country, the visible steps of division, and the self-destructive political behavior of wielding the Democratic Party's logic to undermine the People Power Party for internal power struggles, instead viewing their praise as medals."
Finally, Kweon expressed, "I hope that today's meeting of lawmakers will accurately reflect on the causes of this defeat and serve as a place to discuss a proper party system for the rehabilitation of conservatism going forward."
Meanwhile, regarding the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's plan to process the special inspection law concerning Kim Keon-hee, insurrection, and disciplinary authority expansion from the Prosecutor General to the Minister of Justice in the afternoon's plenary session, he criticized, "Do you really think this will help the new government's launch and success?"