FRICTION WITHIN PPP ELECTION COMMITTEE

[Anchor Lead]

The People Power Party was in unrest as its leader left the election committee some 70 days left in the presidential race. PPP presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol appears to have left it up to election committee chief chair Kim Chong-in to clean up the mess but the opposition party is still feeling the aftershocks.

[Pkg]

PPP presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol and the chief chair of the election committee Kim Chong-in met urgently to deal with friction within the committee. Kim stepped up to clear things up. His plan is to keep the issue within the party to boost efficiency rather than overhauling the election committee or bringing in new people.

[Soundbite] Kim Chong-in(Chief Chair, PPP Election Committee) : "It’s not possible to overhaul the committee time-wise. I have to make it work more effectively and make sure such incidents never happen again."

Yoon appears to have authorized Kim to work out the problem.

[Soundbite] Yoon Suk-yeol(PPP Presidential Candidate) : "He said he would handle the matter with a stronger grip and I agreed with him."

The situation headquarters, often regarded as Kim Chong-in’s special forces, will be at the center of the PPP’s election committee which has been criticized for being too big. Councils that coordinate Yoon’s messages, schedules and strategies also went to work. PPP leader Lee Jun-seok vowed to do what he can as a party leader, but refused to return to the committee.

[Soundbite] Lee Jun-seok(PPP Leader) : "Ask those who said the PPP can win only when Lee Jun-seok is out."

The latest incident finally led PPP members to publicly criticize the candidate. Suh Byung-soo, the longest-serving lawmaker of the PPP, told Yoon that other people will also leave him if he doesn’t get rid of the flies and hyenas that are his cronies. The committee members vowed to make changes by discarding their own ambitions but it is up to Yoon to define the roles of his closest associates and resolve the conflict.