The ruling Grand National Party, reeling from a collapse of leadership, by-election defeats and a devastating hacking scandal, is betting on former chairwoman Park Geun-hye to reverse its fortunes ahead of crucial elections next year.

Yet, the crisis-ridden party was embroiled in a factional struggle Monday over the issue of how much power Park should be given as interim chief.

Nearly 30 senior members of the conservative group decided in a meeting earlier in the day that they need Park to lead them out of the political wilderness and prepare for the April parliamentary elections. 

“Participants shared the view that it would be best to give former chairperson Park the entire authority as chief of the party, given the current emergency situation,” said Rep. Hwang Young-cheul, the party’s floor spokesperson.

Their meeting came as the party discussed the formation of an emergency leadership and Park’s role in it, following the resignation Friday of its chairman Hong Joon-pyo.

However, a general meeting of all GNP legislators later in the day revealed a wide gap among members on the matter.

While those loyal to Park claim she should be allowed to run the party until general elections in April, others said Park’s responsibilities and term should be limited to guiding the party into a convention to elect new leaders.

At stake in the debate is the party chief’s enormous influence over the candidate nomination process, political observers said.

“We have been calling for a completely new start of the party, not just a change of face (from Hong to Park),” said Rep. Chung Doo-un, after a meeting of a dozen reformist lawmakers.

They urged that the party should hold a convention, as part of a campaign to “recreate” the party.

The GNP has been beset by by-election defeats and a devastating allegation that its officials may have been involved in a cyber attack against the national election watchdog during Oct. 26 by-elections.

Members fear that the party must change to regain the public’s confidence and drop an image of being corrupt, complacent and detached from the ordinary people.

A daughter of the late military strongman Park Chung-hee, Park leads a large faction within the party and is considered the party’s best shot at the next presidency.

She has stayed away from key leadership positions for since June 2006, when she stepped down as chairwoman to vie for the party’s 2007 presidential ticket. She lost the nomination to incumbent president Lee Myung-bak.

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)