Hong unveils reform roadmap amid mounting pressure to resignGrand National Party chairman Hong Joon-pyo said he will start immediately efforts to reform the party, as fears mounted among its members that the party, without drastic reforms, will be crushed by a resurgent liberal opposition in crucial elections next year. “A committee, comprising both party and non-party figures, will be launched, tasked with preparations for the party’s rebirth,” Hong told a press conference at the National Assem

This is the first of a series of interviews with first-term lawmakers. ― Ed.The 18th National Assembly has been dominated by senior lawmakers, but rookies nevertheless managed to bring in some positive and significant changes, said a first-term lawmaker of the ruling Grand National Party said.Rep. Kim Se-yeon, a Busan-based entrepreneur-turned-lawmaker and youngest member in the current parliament, is known for his active role in Minbon 21, an in-party group of progressive novice lawmakers.He cu

Grand National Party chairman Hong Joon-pyo said Wednesday he would lead efforts to rebuild the embattled party if party members allow him as pressure mounted on him to step down and allow former chairwoman Park Geun-hye to take charge.“This is not that I want to keep my post. I want to act responsibly,” he told a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul. As head of the ruling party, he thinks it’s his responsibility to see next year’s budget plan pass the National Assembly and handle

The resignation of three members of the ruling Grand National Party’s top decision-making body on Wednesday struck a blow to the party’s leadership and chairman Rep. Hong Joon-pyo.Reps. Yoo Seong-min, Won Hee-ryong and Nam Kyung-pil resigned as Supreme Council members in an attempt to rescue the party’s credibility in the wake of a recent cyber attack scandal.Though Rep. Hong refused to step down immediately, observers say that his leadership has effectively collapsed and should be replaced by t

Three of the five top ruling Grand National Party leaders quit their party posts Wednesday, bursting into the open pent-up anxieties over the lack of progress in efforts to revamp the unpopular party plagued by election defeats and a hacking scandal.The collective resignations by Reps. Yoo Seong-min

Ten lawmakers demand party be disbanded and replaced by new partyThe ruling Grand National Party’s decision-making body is once again being pressed to resign en masse, amid mounting criticism over a cyber attack on the national election watchdog by an aide to one of its lawmakers.Even members of the Supreme Council suggested that the party should rebuild itself from scratch if it is to stand a chance in the upcoming elections.Council member Rep. Won Hee-ryong and nine other lawmakers issued a st