Ruling party chief resigns under pressure from reformist members

SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Yonhap) -- The embattled chief of the ruling Grand National Party resigned Friday, yielding to mounting pressure from reformist members seeking desperately to reshape the beleaguered party ahead of next year's general elections. Rep. Hong Joon-pyo's departure is sure to add pressure on the GNP's leading presidential hopeful Park Geun-hye to step forward and help salvage the unpopular party beset by election defeats, a hacking scandal and widespread perceptions that it is a party for the rich. Park, an unrivaled presidential front-runner in the ruling camp, has stayed away from party affairs for years. If Park is to take over as GNP leader, the party should revise its charter that bans presidential hopefuls from serving in a leadership post one and a half years before the vote. "My heart truly ached while I watched some people single me out as a subject for the overhaul," Hong said during a news conference. "I determined that it is meaningless to remain in this position." The resignation came two days after three top GNP leaders quit en masse in a political coup that underscored concerns among reform-minded members that the party won't be able to regain public confidence under Hong and will suffer crushing defeats in April's parliamentary elections. However, Hong refused to step down, and on Thursday, he promised to take a slew of drastic measures to thoroughly rebuild the party from scratch, including reforming the system to select parliamentary election candidates and bringing in outside figures as candidates. But the announcement was met by a lukewarm response from party members, with critics accusing Hong of refusing to step down in an attempt to stick to his rights as party leader. "There should be no factional fight. We all should unite in strength if we want to win the general and presidential elections," Hong said. "I hope you will forgive me for resigning as the leader without upholding your will until the end." The GNP has been struggling with low approval numbers amid a widespread perception that it is a party for the rich and the privileged. A series of election defeats this year deepened the GNP's sense of crisis that it could lose badly in next year's general and presidential votes. Adding to the woes were recent revelations that an aide to one of its lawmakers was involved in a hacking attack on the Web site of South Korea's election watchdog National Election Commission. The cyber attack paralyzed the Web site for more than two hours during the Oct. 26 by-elections. The elections, which included the highlight race for Seoul mayor, were considered a crucial test of voter sentiment ahead of April's general elections. An opposition-backed candidate won the mayorship in a setback to the ruling party. (END)