16th November
KBS News (video at link)
By Im Juhyeon
Today, Representative An Cheolsu of the [opposition coalition member] People’s Party told a press conference at the National Assembly “President Bak absolutely must not remain in the presidency. At the absolute latest new leadership must appear in the first half of next year.”
Why would An be asking for new leadership no later than the first half of next year? Does this mean that early elections should be held in the first half of next year? Reporters
![An Cheolsu of the People's Party makes a statement. The subtitles read "The President's [continued] holding of office does not coincide with consitutional guarantees and any reversal of that would be incompatible with the constitution."](http://koreanews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-16-at-12.55.12.png)
An Cheolsu of the People’s Party makes a statement. The subtitles read “The President’s [continued] holding of office does not coincide with consitutional guarantees and any reversal of that would be incompatible with the constitution.”
Analysis: further criticism of Bak Geunhye, this time from the junior party in the opposition coalition, the People’s Party (38 seats in parliament compared to the governing Saenuri with 129 and the main opposition party, the Democratic Party, which has 122). An’s statement is actually rather mild, despite the headline –the opposition coalition may actually prefer Bak not to stand down immediately, as another presidential election is due December 2017. They may hope that Bak decides to stand, and is presumably crushed by an apopleptic public, rather than facing off against a conservative replacement candidate who is untainted by the Choi Sunshil affair.