"The recommendation to ask Park and the two lawmakers to leave the party was made after grueling considerations, and through this, we have to reunite the conservative bloc and shore up people's support," Lew said during an impromptu press conference.

"I am aghast at the current situation in which some, engrossed in their pursuit of small interests, conceive political intrigues and divide the party while turning a blind eye to (their) responsibility for the collapse of right-wingers," he added.

Lew, then, excoriated Park sympathizers and loyalists as being "typical of political coteries against reforms." He also threatened to resign if the party does not move forward in the direction his panel has put forward.

His remarks are likely to embolden LKP leader Hong Joon-pyo, who has been striving to force Park out and pave the way for a merger with the Bareun Party. Hong has sought conservatives' unity to rein in increasingly assertive liberal rivals.

But calls have emerged that Hong should slow his drive for Park's departure to prevent the internal rift from further deepening. Park supporters still believe Park was a victim of "political retribution."

"(Hong) has to settle the issue through his political finesse and leadership rather than ramming it through," Chung Woo-taik, the LKP floor leader, said. (Yonhap)