South Korea’s main opposition leader Monday vowed to “do anything” to win next year’s parliamentary elections in response to growing criticism from within his party for its crushing defeat in last week’s parliamentary by-elections.

Rep. Moon Jae-in, chair of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, pledged to consider changing “everything from the party’s people to the party’s day-to-day functioning” to achieve victory in the 2016 general election. Next year’s nationwide polls will decide if the governing party maintains its long-held parliamentary majority.

“Voters delivered a strong message to us in (last Wednesday’s) polls,” Moon said in reference to the four parliamentary by-elections that the governing Saenuri Party won, increasing its parliamentary majority to 160 in the 298-seat National Assembly, from 156.

“I will never forget this loss. I will use it as an opportunity to launch our party to victory in 2016,” Moon added. 

NPAD leader Rep. Moon Jae-in shakes hands with a resident during his visit to Gwangju, Monday. (Yonhap)
The defeats came amid a public uproar over a corruption scandal involving top Saenuri Party officials. Analysts had predicted the scandal would give easy wins to NPAD candidates running in the four contested districts in Seoul, Incheon, Gwangju, and Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

The NPAD’s most surprising loss was to independent candidate Chun Jung-bae in Gwangju, a region long considered an NPAD stronghold.

Chun is an ex-NPAD official who left the party in February after twice failing to secure a spot as a party candidate in Gwangju ― first in last July’s parliamentary by-elections and in the by-elections last week.

Moon flew to Gwangju on Monday to meet voters for the first time since the electoral defeat to Chun, reportedly appealing to former NPAD voters who had turned their backs on the polls.

Moon met senior citizens at a community center in Korea’s fifth-largest city, bowing his head in deference and folding his hands together in front of him.

“I consider your votes as calls urging our party to get our act together,” he said in his deep monotone voice in a speech marked by brief pauses.

Senior NPAD figures have not shied away from expressing their discontent at Moon’s leadership, despite his efforts to unite the party’s many factions after the losses last week.

“If I were Moon, I’d step down,” former liberal lawmaker Chung Dai-chul said. Chung is a senior adviser to the party and also the father of incumbent NPAD Rep. Chyung Ho-joon.

“A politician must take responsibility for electoral results,” the ex-legislator said.

NPAD Rep. Joo Seung-yong accused Moon of favoritism.

“Rep. Moon must resign. If he doesn’t resign, he’d better promise to do away with his factionalist policies,” Joo said Monday.

Joo appeared to be criticizing Moon’s alleged favoritism of members in the NPAD’s most dominant faction, which consists of politicians who started their careers under former liberal President Roh Moo-hyun.

Moon was Roh’s presidential chief of staff and is considered the “big brother” of the pro-Roh group.

But Moon’s approval ratings still lead those of his counterparts in the Saenuri Party.

A Realmeter nationwide poll conducted from April 27 to May 1 with 2,500 respondents showed Moon’s endorsement rating at 24.8 percent. Saenuri chair Rep. Kim Moo-sung came in second at 19.2 percent. The margin of error was plus or minus 2 percent, with a 95 percent confidence level.

By Jeong Hunny (hj257@heraldcorp.com)