By Shim Jae-yun
Staff Reporter

The pro-government Uri Party on Monday withdrew its earlier pledge its members would quit the Assembly seats en masse in protest of the opposition parties’ impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun.

However, the party members have decided to return their wages for the months of April and May to the national coffer as the National Assembly would virtually remain inactive during that period.

In a statement adopted at the end of a party caucus, the party expressed profound sorrow for failing to keep to their promise they would abandon the parliamentary seats.

The statement went on to say ``It would be better to candidly acknowledge and seek for the (people’s) pardon rather than mentally agonizing over the seemingly unfeasible promise.’’

Despite the explanation, the party’s move is expected to trigger severe repercussions from the people at large and the opposition parties, as it presents a taint to the party which has focused on morality and freshness.

Party chairman Chung Dong-young said he had suggested the return of wages out of shame and a sense of desperation for failing to prevent the passage of the impeachment motion.

``But it is a grim truth that the people would have a growing sense of instability if the ruling party leaves the National Assembly at a time when the head of state is also incapacitated,’’ he said at the caucus.

Party floor leader Kim Geun-tae explained the party’s decision had been inevitable due to the problem of getting the unified number of party candidates for the general elections.

Once the party lawmakers step down, party candidates will become independent without belonging to any negotiating group at the National Assembly and will be subject to numbers at random although they will be given No. 3 in accordance with the majority in the current Assembly if they remain at the Assembly.

``There has also been anxiety that our resignation will prompt the opposition parties, now upset by the nosedive in approval ratings, to seek an extreme and reckless course of action,’’ Kim said.

But some party lawmakers opposed to the device, underlining the need for the party to insist on its image as a cleaner and fresher party compared with the rivaling major opposition Grand National Party and the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP).

In a bid to keep its image as a clean party compared with the opposition parties, the party yesterday decided to strip former lawmaker Yoo In-hak of his candidacy as one of his campaign aides was found to have engaged in illegal campaigning.

jayshim@koreatimes.co.kr