The fragile solidarity in the main opposition party is fast crumbling again as dissenters joined former cochairman Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo’s calls for the chairman to step down Monday.

Dissenting floor leader Rep. Lee Jong-kul and Supreme Council member Rep. Joo Seung-yong refused to attend the party’s regular Supreme Council meeting in the morning. They demanded chairman Rep. Moon Jae-in accept Ahn’s proposal to hold a national caucus early next year to overhaul the embattled party leadership.

Their move followed Ahn’s press conference Sunday reiterating his calls for Moon to seek a referendum, which was initially shunned by Moon on Thursday, indicating Ahn may leave the party unless the demands are met.

“Chairman Moon must hold fast on to Rep. Ahn at any cost. ... Unless (Moon offers) a compromise, I will step down from the Supreme Council,” Joo said.

Lee told reporters, “The man who holds more (power) must yield more.”

A group of “nonmainstream” party members also held a morning meeting and discussed their next step, which may include refusing to tend to party affairs or resigning from their party positions, according to sources.

Factional fissures have escalated since Moon became the chairman in February, as disgruntled party members blamed the leadership identified as loyalists to late President Roh Moo-hyun for resorting to hegemonic control that cost the party repeated election defeats to the ruling Saenuri Party. The latest election defeat was in the Oct. 28 by-elections held in 24 different constituencies, of which the Saenuri Party swept 15 while the NPAD were left with just two. The rest went to independent candidates.

Senior Rep. Park Jie-won stepped into the fight, saying in a radio interview, “If the current situation persists, the party will die and so will Moon,” urging the chairman to step down. He said many figures around him were suggesting that he leave the party as well. “I believe the time may indeed come for me to make the decision.”

Moon, meanwhile, maintained his cautious stance, saying it was still premature to respond to Ahn’s remarks from Sunday.

“What we need right now is for us to join hands, unite and cooperate. I believe there must be an alternative,” Moon said.

Rivalry between Moon and Ahn, who have butted heads since vying for the opposition candidacy in the 2012 presidential race, came to a head last month sparked by Moon’s suggestion to form a three-way coalition leadership between the two along with popular Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon. Ahn turned down the request, asking Moon to leave his chairmanship instead.

Works to reform the party continued, nonetheless, as the Supreme Council gathered to discuss the 10-point reform measures suggested by Ahn. The party is scheduled to hold a party affairs meeting on Wednesday to be followed by a central committee meeting on Dec. 14.

Moderate members of the party, for their part, gathered to discuss ways to break the quagmire to prevent what they see as “the worst-case scenario” where Ahn bolts, leading to a division of the opposition forces ahead of the April 13 general elections.

“This is no longer viable to leave things up to Moon and Ahn, who are failing to see eye to eye. ... We can no longer sit by and watch and (must) bring forth detailed alternatives to pressure both of them,” said National Assembly deputy speaker Rep. Lee Seok-hyun. Their options reportedly include creating an elections committee ahead of time for them to control the faction fight fallout or to have Moon and Ahn step back and allow for an emergency leadership.

Former NPAD heavyweight and independent Rep. Chun Jung-bae, meanwhile, took the cue from the escalating tension to make his move.

“The No. 1 opposition party has run its course. ... The tit-for-tat within the party is meaningless and useless,” he told reporters.

He said that all the dissenting lawmakers, including Ahn, would be welcome to join his move to create a new party.

Some 33 retired members of the Democratic Party, the precursor to the NPAD, also held a press conference Monday and said that a newly integrated party should be made encompassing Chun and other opposition heavyweights seeking to build a new party including Rep. Park Joo-sun and former South Jeolla Province governor Park Joon-young.

Rep. Chun defected in March in protest against Moon’s refusal to nominate him for the 2015 April by-elections. Third-term lawmaker Rep. Park Joo-sun left the party in September amid Moon’s push to overhaul the party in the wake of by-election defeats. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)