National Assembly Deputy Speaker Park Duk-hyum of the People Power Party has directly criticized fellow party member Rep. Cho Kyoung-tae, stating, "I strongly condemn these acts that are harmful to the party," and adding, "If you do not like the temple, it is only logical for the monk to leave."

On his social media, Deputy Speaker Park wrote, "As a fellow party member and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, I cannot help but feel devastated while listening to the sophistry poured out by Rep. Cho Kyoung-tae, and I am writing this post."

He continued, "Rep. Cho has not hesitated to use abusive language that crosses the line, calling me and other party members and lawmakers who opposed the impeachment 'forces that defend insurrection' and claiming that 'this is not a normal political party,'" adding, "I cannot help but ask a few questions."

Deputy Speaker Park pointed out, "If, according to Rep. Cho's logic, opposing the impeachment at the time makes one a force of insurrection, then why do you remain in the People Power Party, which you claim is an insurrectionist party?" He further asked, "If you truly despise this party so much, why did you participate in the primary for the National Assembly Deputy Speaker position of this 'insurrectionist party,' and why did you appeal to the members of this party to vote for you?"

He continued to criticize, saying, "If your convictions were truly that strong, you should have declared from the beginning that 'I cannot participate in the primary of such a party,' and it would have been appropriate to say that 'one should not vote for insurrectionist forces.'" He added, "I wonder if you learned the politics of a petty person, plotting behind the scenes only after losing the primary."

Deputy Speaker Park also stated, "Today, Rep. Cho admitted in an interview that he had a phone conversation with the Democratic Party," and directly criticized him, saying, "I strongly condemn Rep. Cho's 'harmful acts' of communicating with the opposition party ahead of the plenary session to elect the Deputy Speaker."

He added, "Refusing to accept the results of the primary, dividing the party, and looking for votes from the opposition party is an anti-party behavior that denies democracy," and continued, "The act of constantly attacking from within while enjoying the benefits of receiving the party's nomination three times should no longer be tolerated."

Finally, Deputy Speaker Park urged Rep. Cho, saying, "If you do not like the temple, it is logical for the monk to leave." He concluded, "Stop this politics of self-contradiction—where you insult the party you belong to as an insurrectionist force while begging for votes from over a hundred lawmakers to become Deputy Speaker under that party's banner—and stop this double-dealing politics of holding hands in front of others while claiming to accept the results, only to defy the party's decision and engage in harmful acts behind their backs."
 
(Photo: Yonhap News)