A rebellion by Chu Mi-ae, top campaign manager of the opposition Millennium Democratic Party (MDP), against the party old guard was quelled on Wednesday, but the second-largest party appears to be well on its way to a breakup.
Chu’s rebellion ended in less than 24 hours after it started as election officials accepted a protest by Chough Soon-hyung, party chairman and leader of the party stalwarts, and decided to declare the list of 40 proportional candidates filed by Chu’s side as well as her revocation of nominations for four candidates to be null and void.

``We came to the conclusion that the MDP chairman was vindicated in his request that Chu’s nominations and revocations of nominations be made invalid,’’ a spokesman for the National Election Commission (NEC) said on Wednesday evening.

Following the NEC’s decision, Chu’s nominations for the proportional candidates were now invalid as were her revocations of nominations for the MDP’s former chairman, Park Sang-cheon, former general-secretary Kim Ok-doo, floor leader Yoo Yong-tae and lawmaker Choi Jae-sung.

However, in response, about 30 candidates for constituencies in Seoul and Kyonggi said they threatened to quit the party and run on independent tickets. ``Our party doesn’t have a chance with these candidates included,’’ one of the protesting candidates said. ``Their presence is detrimental to our will for reform and the voters wouldn’t forgive us for that.

Hearing of the NEC decision, Chu collapsed and was hospitalized.

Earlier in the day, she said that she had no intention to go back on her decisions to confront the old guard.

``The party leadership promised to give me full power when it asked me to take the job,’’ Chu, leader of a recent rebellion against the old guard, said on a radio program. ``I intend to exercise my right.’’

The MDP top campaign manager also said the party emergency office convened by the party stalwarts in response to Chu’s move was not valid and has no power to invalidate her decision.

Party chairman Chough made a protest visit to the NEC and asked it to allow him to change the party’s seal that is used to indicate the party’s approval on candidates’ registration documents. The seal is now in Chu’s hands. Chough wanted to change the seal so that he could reinstate the candidacies of the four party stalwarts.

Chu and the party’s old guard should submit their unified list of candidates by the 5 p.m. deadline on Thursday for candidacy registration or it may become inevitable that the party breaks up and the candidates go on opposing tickets.