Reformists collect nearly 10,000 signatures demanding Jang Dong-hyeok step down People Power Party Chair Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok is seen at a party meeting on Monday. (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald) Internal strife has lingered in the right-wing People Power Party, as Chair Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok faces mounting calls for resignation in reckoning for the party's defeats in June's local elections.As Jang refused to resign and hinted at disciplinary actions on party members for inflicting damage on the party, reformists have retorted that Jang is suppressing opponents to cling to his leadership post.In the latest tally, the number of signatures on a petition calling for Jang's resignation among the party's unofficial reformist group, which began being collected on June 22, approached 10,000.According to an anonymous source with knowledge of the matter, the petition comprising both dues-paying party members and nonmembers will be delivered to Jang should his party embark on any disciplinary action against a lawmaker viewed as being reformist."It is not a matter of how many signatures we secured," said the source, who has been involved in collecting signatures, Tuesday."Antidemocratic politics full of intimidation is at play, and his politics of using disciplinary actions to his own advantage is highly associated with it," he added.This is the latest development in the feud between the faction leaning toward Jang, which claims the chair has contributed to the rebound of the party's popularity after the elections despite the defeats, and the reformist minority leaning toward Rep. Han Dong-hoon, who is now an independent lawmaker.Jang on Monday said via Facebook that he would "not resign no matter what conclusion (our party's) lawmakers reached at a general assembly," in response to reformist People Power Party lawmaker Rep. Woo Jae-jun's demand for resignation at a Supreme Council meeting.Later Monday, a text message received by People Power Party Rep. Kang Myeong-gu revealed that disciplinary measures against some conservative party lawmakers were under discussion.The message, caught on camera, indicated that their acts of harming the party included support of Han, the estranged former People Power Party chair who won his parliamentary by-election against a People Power Party candidate in Busan.On Tuesday, the People Power Party said the message does not indicate the official stance of the party.However, a string of actions fueled reformist lawmakers' calls for Jang's resignation.Rep. Park Jeong-hun, one of the People Power Party lawmakers targeted in the message, said in a radio interview Tuesday that conservative voters' tilt toward Han in the by-election in Busan suggested Jang "is the one who should take political responsibility.""If Jang's faction in power makes any decisions that undermine democracy by unjustly using its power, it will only add more reasons for Jang to resign," Park said.Another target, Rep. Jin Jong-oh of the People Power Party, said in a separate interview that his act of supporting Han "was not against the people's will, regardless of how the party's ethics committee frames my action."