Kim Moon-soo criticizes party discord

[Anchor]

The People Power Party, which lost the presidential election, held a ceremony to disband its election campaign committee today (Jun. 4).

Presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo pointed to the collapse of intra-party democracy as a reason for the election defeat, echoing calls for party reform.

And within the party, there is intensifying discord over the resignation of the leadership.

This is a report by reporter Lee Ye-jin.

[Report]

Candidate Kim Moon-soo apologized, saying that his presidential election defeat was a grave historical sin.

["I offer a deep bow of apology."]

Then, seeming determined, he unleashed harsh criticisms towards the party.

He criticized the failure to prevent the 12.3 emergency martial law.

[Kim Moon-soo/Former Presidential Candidate of the People Power Party: "The inability to control (the martial law) is a very serious problem in that we lack the power within the party…."]

He mentioned the process of nominating the presidential candidate and criticized the collapse of the party's internal democracy.

[Kim Moon-soo/Former Presidential Candidate of the People Power Party: "Wasn't the official candidate chosen in a nonsensical manner? Deep reflection and reform are needed."]

The lawmakers also agreed on the need of party reform.

However, their directions differed.

[Na Kyung-won/Member of the People Power Party: "Isn't it also necessary to strengthen the party's identity and combat power…."]

[Cho Kyoung-tae/Member of the People Power Party: "If candidate Lee Jun-seok had not been ousted, we wouldn't be in this difficult situation…."]

There were also differing opinions regarding the resignation of the leadership.

As demands for the leadership's public apology and mass resignation erupted, mainly from the pro-Han faction members, the leadership countered that preventing the Democratic Party's unilateral control takes priority over internal conflicts.

They pledged their commitment to return to responsible politics with a sense of self-dissolution, vowing to part ways with the past and to be reborn as rational conservatives.

[Kim Yong-tae/Chairman of the Emergency Response Committee of the People Power Party: "I will ensure that we can gather our opinions wisely. While accountability may be important, it is even more important to keep the banner of reform alive."]

As conflicts within the party over the responsibility for the early election defeat come to the surface, a heated debate is expected tomorrow (Jun. 5) at the general meeting over the direction of reform.

KBS News, Lee Ye-jin.