PPP floor leader Song Eon-seog resigns, calls for party's 'fresh start'

People Power Party floor leader Song Eon-seog announced Friday that he would step down from his post.

Speaking at a general assembly of lawmakers at the National Assembly, Song said, "I wish to resign as floor leader today, Friday. I believe our party needs a fresh start. I hope a new floor leader is elected promptly so the People Power Party can march forward again with full force."

He said the message from voters in the recent election was clear. "I believe this was a great victory by a wise public," he said. "The people did not hand overwhelming power to any single party or faction — they reminded us once again that the democratic principle of checks and balances truly matters."

Song added that the results also handed the PPP a weighty task. "At the same time, the public has given our party the heavy assignment of reflecting more deeply, pursuing reform with greater humility, and returning to the people," he said. "In keeping with that public will, I believe our party needs a fresh start."

Reflecting on the past year, Song said he took on the floor leader role immediately after the party's presidential election defeat. "At the time, the party was in profound disarray," he said. "Amid that turmoil, the Democratic Party and President Lee Jae Myung mounted fierce political offensives and pushed for a special prosecutor. In the National Assembly, the majority used its sheer numbers to ram through a host of bad laws, including the so-called yellow envelope bill."

"That we made it this far is thanks to the support of the citizens who stood by us, the dedication of our party members, and the unity and cooperation of the senior and fellow lawmakers in this room," he said. "I am sincerely grateful."

Song said he had carried two words in his heart throughout the past year: "survival" and "rebuilding." "Amid the fierce waves of sudden martial law, impeachment and a presidential election defeat, I saw it as my responsibility to protect the party, restore the democratic principle of checks and balances, and rebuild the party into one that earns the public's trust again," he said.

He also thanked the public and party members for standing by the PPP through difficult times. "Thanks to you, we survived, and even in the local elections — though there is still much to regret — we managed to lay the minimum groundwork needed to rise again," he said.

Song acknowledged, however, that the goal of rebuilding the party remained unfinished. "My abilities fell short, and the task of party rebuilding has not been fully accomplished," he said. "I believe that mission must now be carried forward by a new floor leader."

His voice breaking at times, Song said that if he had to sum up the emotions of the past year in a single word, it would be "humiliation."

"Negotiations only work when both sides apply the same fair standard, but in more than a year of talks with the Democratic Party, there was not a single moment when that was the case," he said. "I felt enormous frustration deep inside, and I was far from at ease — there were times I wanted to flip the table and walk out, a dozen times a day."

He said, however, that walking away was not a real option. "If the process had broken down entirely, there was very little we could have done as a minority opposition party," he said. "I simply endured the mockery packed into every offhand word thrown out by the majority floor leadership."

Song closed with a single appeal to his fellow lawmakers: "Let's keep one thing in mind — let's make sure we win the next general election."