Hong vows to keep liberal govt. in check

By a2016032

Published : May 12, 2017 - 16:33 Updated : May 12, 2017 - 16:33

Hong Joon-pyo, a former conservative presidential candidate, vowed Friday to "thoroughly" keep the newly minted liberal government in check, raising the prospect of a rocky relationship between the ruling and opposition blocs.

Hong of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party made the remarks before departing for the United States to rest after President Moon Jae-in bested him in Tuesday's election by a wide margin.

Hong Joo-pyo, a former presidential candidate of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, meets with reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on May 12, 2017. (Yonhap)

"Given that we have already experienced a role as an opposition party for 10 years (during the former two liberal governments from 1998-2008), we will thoroughly keep this government in check by establishing a strong main opposition party," he told reporters.

"By uniting conservatives, I will not let the country be dominated by leftists," he added.

His comments came as Moon is seeking to set the tone for smooth cooperation with the opposition-led National Assembly.

Moon's Democratic Party holds only 120 seats in the 299-member legislature, which makes it necessary for the ruling camp to cooperate with opposition parties in passing key bills. Hong's party holds 94 seats, while the splinter conservative Bareun Party has 20 seats.

During the meeting with reporters, Hong also encouraged more lawmakers from the Bareun Party to "return" to his party. Days before the presidential election, 13 Bareun lawmakers defected to the LKP in support of Hong.

The minor party spun off from the LKP in January amid a factional feud over a massive corruption scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye.

"I hope more (lawmakers) from the Bareun Party can come back and play a role for the grand integration of conservatives," Hong said.

In the wake of the election where Hong came in second with 24 percent of the vote, different interpretations of the poll results have been a fresh source of division within the party.

Some have construed the election results as Hong having performed better than expected despite the public criticism of the corruption-tainted former president. Others, however, blamed him for having failed to drum up enough conservative support. (Yonhap)