The leader of the minor opposition Bareun Party on Monday hinted at resigning over an escalating graft scandal, which has threatened to derail its reform efforts and erode public support.

"I hope that you trust the loyalty I hold towards the party, and I will soon make a decision for the party," Lee Hye-hoon said during a general meeting of the party's 20 lawmakers.

"The only one who knows the actual truth behind the scandal is me. ... I will establish my innocence by verifying the truth," she added.
 

The scandal erupted last week following a news report on the claim by a businesswoman that she gave cash and gifts worth about 60 million won ($53,400) to Lee over a dozen occasions from October 2015 to March this year. Lee flatly denies it.

The scandal dealt a major blow to the party's drive for "new, transparent and warm" conservatism and fueled discussions for its possible merger with the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, from which it splintered off amid a factional feud late last year.

Lee, an economist-turned-lawmaker, took the helm of the party in June, vowing to make it the "main base" of conservatism -- in a veiled message against a possible merger or alliance with the LKP. (Yonhap)