GNP in leadership turmoil as senior members quit key posts

SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Yonhap) -- A senior member of the ruling Grand National Party said Wednesday he quit his party leadership post and two others are expected to follow suit, creating leadership turmoil in the beleaguered party as woes deepen over a hacking scandal. Rep. Yoo Seong-min, one of the five members of the GNP's Supreme Council, said in a statement emailed to Yonhap News Agency that he steps down as a council member to "take responsibility for failing to salvage the party from a crisis of life or death." Two other reform-minded members, Reps. Nam Kyung-pil and Won Hee-ryong, are set to follow suit, sources said. The collective resignations are seen as reflecting concern that the unpopular party will not be able to win back public confidence under GNP leader Hong Joon-pyo ahead of April's parliamentary elections, and are expected to lead ultimately to Hong's fall. That could in turn lead to top GNP presidential contender Park Geun-hye returning to the party's front line for the first time in years. There have been calls from within the party that Park should take over to reshape the party's image. 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 a 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 cyberattack paralyzed the NEC's Web site for more than two hours during the Oct. 26 by-elections. The main opposition Democratic Party has raised suspicions that the crime must have been masterminded by higher-ranked GNP members, claiming it is hard to believe the low-level aide carried out the plot that required a lot of money to hire hacking professionals. Reformist GNP members have called for sweeping measures to reshape the party's image, with even more members hinting at the possibility of leaving the party or even calling for splitting the party and starting a new body if adequate reforms are not carried out. (END)