Even though the Democratic Labor Party's emergency committee started its official work, increasing numbers of the party members are defecting from the party. On January 22, 45 members in Yeo-su, Jeonnam Province and 30 in Kwang-ju defected. These were the third massive defection, following cases in Gu-ri, Kyung-gi Province and Hae-won-dae, Busan Province.

The defection came shocking to the party, because Shim Sang-jeong, the chairwoman of emergency committee, announced to advance the date of national convention by two weeks. The national convention was originally supposed to be given a proposal of reforming the party. The defects all claimed that the majority NL faction’s despotism in management of the party and allegiance to North Korea had reached its peak and the party backroom discussion between faction heads cannot solve the problem the party is facing with.

Backroom Discussion Doesn’t Work

Defecting from the party, members of Kwang-ju affiliation said “Till the 2007 Presidential Election the party has only conducted betrayal to beliefs on the progressive party to the party members as well as to the public,” and “ambiguous attitude over North Korea’s nuclear crisis and the espionage case have aroused suspicion of the identity of the party.”

They accused the party of the faction’s practices like fake membership, illegal ballot, negative election campaign and accounting frauds. They insisted that these practices have smeared party’s image so that the party seems to lose its ability to set up basic democratic principles. They criticize the NL faction, saying “the main reason of the current crisis is in the majority NL faction’s allegiance to Pyongyang and despotism in the management of DLP.”

In their statement, they said “current situation cannot be solved by backroom discussion between heads of factions and the DLP has already ended its career as a progressive party,” and “our outward step is a closing bell to the old-fashioned progressive politics and at the same time the first step towards next generation.”

Defectors in Yeo-su also took exactly the same attitude with members in Kwang-ju.

They said “People call for reform and it should not be reduced to compromise among factional leaders,” and “in an attempt to make new generation’s progressive party, we now leave the party.”

Earlier on January 21, Cho Seung-soo resigned as the head of DLP's progressive political think-tank and Cho Hyun-yun in policy planning committee, former vice president of the committee Kim Suk-yun and former policy secretary Lee Jae-young announced defection. They all joined a tentatively named ‘Movement to New Progressive Party’.

Ordinary members joining the efforts to make new party can shake the leadership of emergency committee. Because if Shim doesn’t show her ability to control the secessionist group, a political backlash is likely to happen by the NL faction, who are fully disgruntled by the committee’s way in dealing with so-called Il-shim-hoe case, an espionage scandal, and candidate nominating.

Standoff Can Only Make Matters Worse

On January 22, in a meeting of emergency committee, Shim said “The yardstick used to evaluate the progressive movement can only be the practice. Presupposing and stigmatizing someone before practice is exemplary case of factional movements’ bad effects.”

She added “the party has come to a deadlock that one insists on dissolution of the party and the other on expelling members,” and “we should make our way to reforming the party with perseverance to correspond to the hopes of people and party members.”

Translated by Cho Eunseok