Kweon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, stepped down from his position after six months in office. He resigned taking responsibility for the 'replacement of the presidential candidate' incident and the crushing defeat in the 21st presidential election.
On the 12th, Kweon, the floor leader, held a resignation press conference at the National Assembly and said, "We must begin introspection and innovation based on the failures and impeachment of the Yoon Suk-yeol government and the defeat in the last election," adding, "I hope the next leadership will heal our party's pain well."
Kweon was elected in the floor leader election held amid the impeachment crisis in December last year, defeating the neutral candidate Kim Tae-ho with 72 votes out of 106. However, he stepped down halfway through his one-year term as the floor leader. He had stated in his inaugural speech at that time, "I will quickly reorganize the party and step down after completing preparations for a possible presidential election."
Referred to as 'Yoon Hae-kwan,' he had already held the position of floor leader once after the launch of the Yoon Suk-yeol government in 2022 and also stepped down after five months, taking responsibility for incidents such as the suspension of duties of former leader Lee Jun-seok.
The second term as floor leader was marked by continuous difficulties. From the beginning of his term, there were controversies over 'pro-Yoon leadership' and 'a return to pro-Yoon party,' and despite negative public opinion regarding the martial law situation, he gathered a majority opinion at a party assembly and adopted the 'party line against impeachment.' After the impeachment motion against former President Yoon was passed, he had to manage the extreme internal strife within the party and prepare for a quick election.
In his resignation press conference, he emphasized that the adoption of the party line against impeachment was an unavoidable choice at the time.
Kweon stated, "At that time, there was still a second trial for Representative Lee Jae-myung regarding violations of the Public Official Election Act. It was a ruling that would have a significant impact on the election. While anticipating a fair ruling from the judiciary, we had to delay the passage of the impeachment motion," adding that he persuaded then-Representative Han Dong-hoon to 'decide on the impeachment based on the results of Minister Kim Yong-hyun's investigation.'
After former President Yoon was ousted, the party, which was unprepared for a quick election transition, fell into chaos.
Kweon and the party leadership appealed to Kim Moon-soo, the former presidential candidate elected through the party's internal primary, urging a consolidation with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo before the candidate registration deadline. When Kim rejected this, the party attempted an unprecedented 'candidate replacement incident' and sustained serious injuries. During this process, Kweon even remarked to his party's presidential candidate that he was 'trying to hold onto a paltry presidential candidate position.' Although calls for resignation arose due to the 'candidate replacement controversy,' he maintained his position due to the unique circumstances of the election phase.
During the press conference, Kweon also emphasized regarding the 'candidate replacement incident,' "83% of the party members ordered that a consolidation must happen, and if we ignore that and remain idle, won't the party leadership be criticized for neglecting their responsibilities?"
He emphasized, "(The attempt to replace the candidate) went through the party's legal committee and received the opinion that there were no issues at all, and we proceeded according to the procedures set out in the party constitution and regulations." He added, "In that process, there were no legal flaws, and no political flaws either."
He achieved some results in negotiations with the opposition through strong fighting spirit. Kweon noted, "As a result of strongly demanding compliance with legal procedures from the Constitutional Court, we were able to obtain rulings dismissing wrongful filings against innocent cabinet nominations," and added, "Regarding violations of the Public Official Election Act, we strongly demanded the 6-3-3 principle, leading to a ruling of guilty at the Supreme Court before the presidential election. "
He cited 'internal party integration' as the best thing he achieved during his tenure. Kweon remarked, "I endured even as my insides were torn apart, and my pride was hurt, to ensure that the party did not fracture and instead integrated."
When asked if he felt a sense of responsibility for the recruitment of former President Yoon, the impeachment of the president, and the defeat in the election, Kweon stated only, "I stepped down from the floor leader position because I admitted that I was evaluated for the failures of the ruling government."
The next floor leader of the People Power Party will be elected on the 16th. So far, 3-term lawmakers Kim Seong-won from Dongducheon, Yangju, and Yeoncheon and Song Eon-seok from Gimcheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do, have declared their candidacy. Both are considered policy experts.
However, within the political circles, it is believed that these candidates are being supported by the former pro-Yoon camp, pro-Han camp, and the anti-Yoon camp, respectively. Kweon's remarks today, stating, "It has been very difficult due to conflicts between pro-Yoon and pro-Han until recently," and "Let's not blame anyone and become divided now," as well as, "Politician Han Dong-hoon would not have existed without former President Yoon," are interpreted as warnings against the pro-Han camp in the floor leader election. The reform faction centered around the pro-Han camp sees 'the nullification of the party line against impeachment' and 'an investigation into the circumstances of the candidate replacement incident' as necessary.