South Korean Politics and Elections

Uri Disbands to Merge With Liberal Party

Korea Times, August 19, 2007

By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter

The pro-government Uri Party has disbanded itself to merge with a new liberal party, the United New Democratic Party (UNDP).

The Uri Party approved a bill regarding the merger with 2,174 for and 155 against among party delegates during a national convention in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, Saturday.

The party, which has disappeared three years and nine months after it was launched by President Roh Moo-hyun and his followers, will sign an agreement on the merger with the UNDP Monday. The merger will register with the Central Election Commission on the same day, party officials said.

``People gave us 152 seats in the National Assembly elections in 2004 but we were not capable enough to fight against conservatives,'' Uri Chairman Chung Sye-kyun said. ``We offer an apology to them but we believe the merger will bring victory in December's presidential election.''

However, the party faces objections to the merger from many of its lawmakers and members.

Reps. Kim Hyuk-kyu and Kim Won-woong, who opened their bids for the Dec. 19 presidential race, gave up their bids to oppose the disbandment.

Before the convention began, about 400 party members staged a rally against the merger in front of the venue.

The UNDP, born on Aug. 5, will become the largest negotiating group in the Assembly with 143 seats, 14 more than those of the largest opposition Grand National Party (GNP), if the merger is successful. The main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) has 129 seats.

Political experts, however, speculated that the new party will likely have a rocky road ahead of the crucial vote.

They said the party failed to achieve its goal _ a coalition of liberal forces _ as the Democratic Party (DP) announced that it will not join the merger.

As a result, it seems that the liberals will not have a sole presidential candidate to compete against the GNP in the presidential election.

Also the new party drew criticisms that it was just the Uri Party laundering its name. Of 143 lawmakers of the UNDP, 138 came from the Uri Party, while the remaining five are former DP lawmakers.

The UNDP consists of lawmakers of different political groups, members of various civic groups and independents including presidential hopefuls Sohn Hak-kyu. A former Gyeonggi governor, Sohn defected from the GNP in March.

ksy@koreatimes.co.kr

Ruling Camp Hopefuls Criticize Ex-Governor

Korea Times, August 8, 2007

By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter

Former Gyeonggi Governor Sohn Hak-kyu, an independent presidential hopeful, is under fire from presidential contenders known as loyalists to President Roh Moo-hyun, due to his previous party affiliation.

Sohn, who in surveys has the most support among probable pro-government candidates, deserted the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) in March.

Political watchers said Roh loyalists are seemingly trying to unite their forces by organizing an anti-Sohn alliance to keep him in check.

Former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, who belongs to the pro-government Uri Party, opened fire against the former governor, claiming he would be unable to lead the pro-government camp to victory in December's presidential election.

``Sohn is the `never-win' card for us. We cannot win the crucial presidential race with a straggler who ran away from the GNP,'' she said. ``He is not the appropriate candidate at a time when we are desperate to regain public support.''

Sohn served as a member of the GNP for 15 years, and was elected Gyeonggi governor in the 2002 local elections on the opposition party's ticket.

He declared his presidential bid while in the conservative GNP but quit it after suffering from low popularity, Roh loyalists said.

Another Uri contender Lee Hae-chan, who also served as prime minister, questioned Sohn's inclination, raising his previous party affiliation.

``He should have stayed in the GNP and joined its primary race,'' Lee said. ``I think his desertion disturbed the order and legitimacy of politics.''

Lee added that Sohn cannot change his political identity with just a couple of words.

Roh loyalists also criticized young politicians who have joined Sohn's presidential camp.

Rep. Kim Hyuk-kyu, also a Uri contender, said those lawmakers are jumping on Sohn's bandwagon with little understanding of the present situation.

According to polling agency TNS Korea last week, Sohn topped its survey among probable pro-government candidates with support of 22 percent, followed by former Uri Chairman Chung Dong-young with 10.9 percent.

Rep. Chough Soon-hyung of the Centrist United Democratic Party ranked third with 8.1 percent and Lee Hae-chan trailed him with 6.8 percent, it said.

ksy@koreatimes.co.kr

Liberals to Pick Standard-Bearer in Mid-October

Korea Times, July 19, 2007

By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter

The pro-government camp will select a presidential candidate by Oct. 14 through an open primary which allows non-party members to vote, camp officials said Thursday.

Seven hopefuls are expected to vie in the primary, which is scheduled to begin Sept. 15.

They include former Gyeonggi Governor Sohn Hak-kyu; former Chairman Chung Dong-young of the pro-government Uri Party; former Prime Ministers Han Myeong-sook and Lee Hae-chan; Rep. Kim Hyuk-kyu of the Uri Party; former Minister of Justice Chun Jung-bae; and former Minister of Government Administration and Home Affairs Kim Doo-kwan.

``The seven aspirants agreed to hold the open primary and a pre-primary race to cull presidential hopefuls before the open primary begins,'' said an official of the council for the promotion of the primary. ``We will decide on detailed rules on the primary after a coalition of liberal groups is created.''

The council, which consists of Uri deserters and members of civic groups, hosted several meetings for the hopefuls.

They agreed on July 4 to create a grand coalition in the run-up to the Dec. 19 presidential election. However, it seems that their way of creating a coalition is too complicated.

Co-Chairman Park Sang-cheon of the Centrist United Democratic Party (CUDP) keeps refusing to join the coalition, saying moves for the alliance are merely a jumble of some lawmakers, not a coalition.

Meanwhile, 15 Uri lawmakers, including Song Young-gil, threatened to leave the party, denouncing party leaders who waver in merging its force with the CUDP and other liberal groups.

About eight lawmakers of the CUDP also announced they will quit the party soon to create a new party with potential Uri deserters.

ksy@koreatimes.co.kr

GNP In-House Watchdog Defends Candidates

Korea Times, June 22, 2007

By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter

A team of the Grand National Party (GNP) Friday announced that its two leading presidential contenders were cleared of the suspicion over their alleged wrongdoings, including questionable wealth accumulation and tax evasion.

The interim announcement came after its committee screened all allegations on former Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak and former GNP Chairwoman Park Geun-hye. The panel said the two are free of charge from speculative activities in real estate and tax evasion.

But the pro-government Uri Party and other parties criticized the announcement.

``The people are watching how the GNP handles these critical issues and they will not sit back if the GNP continues like this,'' Uri Party spokeswoman Suh Hae-suk told The Korea Times. The spokesperson added the GNP panel has limitations.

She said the party would monitor the final report to be released later.

Rep. Suh said the Uri Party would not set expectation high over future activities of the in-house body, but it will take adequate measures against the GNP if it repeats these kinds of lackluster activities.

A few lawmakers of the Uri Party attacked Lee and Park during the recent parliamentary session.

Rep. Kim Hyuk-kyu said Lee's family has changed residency 15 times since 1969 and claimed that his phony address registrations were designed for property speculation.

Following the attack, Lee apologized to the public but denied the allegation that the frequent changes of addresses was for real estate speculation. Lee said his residency change was to help his children to get quality education at prestigious schools.

The GNP watchdog said the Uri Party raised the suspicion not based on facts, but on speculation.

``We've found that Lee's explanation was true,'' said Rep. Lee Ju-ho of the committee.

Rep. Lee said the former Seoul mayor's family changed addresses 24 times since 1969 but the changes have nothing to do with speculation.

The Uri Party also claimed that Park Geun-hye dodged taxes between 1995 and 1999 when she served as chairwoman of a scholarship foundation.

The party's committee said it found no evidence for the claim. But it acknowledged Park made a technical mistake in her delay of a payment of a national health insurance premium.

hkang@koreatimes.co.kr

Uri Party Is Moving Fast for Upcoming Presidential Election

Dong-A, June 13, 2007

Stimulated by recent developments in the opposition Grand National Party’s primary race, ruling Uri Party members are moving fast to catch up with their rival in the upcoming presidential election.

While Kim Geun-tae, former Uri Party chairman, declared yesterday that he will not run the presidential election, two former prime ministers, Han Myeong-sook and Lee Hae-chan, are preparing themselves to run the election. They are scheduled to make official announcements next week.

However, the ruling Uri Party is being taken apart now. As the June 14 deadline set by Uri Party senior members to form a unified force within the ruling party is approaching, Chung Dae-cheol, an Uri Party senior adviser, and his followers, and other young party members whose districts mostly belong to the Gyeonggi, Incheon, and Chungcheong regions announced that they will defect from the party once the deadline is over.

Meanwhile, former Uri Party Chairman Kim Geun-tae held a press conference yesterday and stated that, “I won’t make any effort to be a president. Instead, I will work hard to help develop a unified force among politicians to pursue a peaceful, reformative orientation.”

At the same time, Kim declared his defection from the party and said, “I am not a member of the Uri Party any more. From now on, I will devote myself to achieve unification.” Kim also mentioned the names of figures who are considered to be possible candidates of the ruling party, such as former Prime Minister Han, the party’s former chairman Chung Dong-young, Chun Jung-bae, lawmaker of a newly formed party, Kim Hyuk-kyu, lawmaker of the Uri Party, former Prime Minister Lee, former Gyeonggi Governor Sohn Hak-gyu, and Moon Guk-hyeon, president of Yuhan Kimberly, and asked them to adopt an open primary system as soon as possible.

Considering Kim’s position brought the two major factions within the party together with Chung, his defection is expected to further accelerate the party’s dissolution and affect the effort to form a unified force among party members.

On the same day, Chung, former chairman of the Uri Party, also met reporters and confirmed that he will leave the party after June 14, saying that, “If we fail to concentrate our power into one single direction, it is meaningless to run in the presidential election.”

Amid such turmoil, former Prime Minister Lee plans to announce his bid to run in the presidential election next Tuesday. Lee is known as one of influential members of President Roh Moo-hyun’s inner group.

One lawmaker who is close to Lee met reporters yesterday, saying, “Lee finally decided to run in the election and plans to make an official announcement next week. He is having deep thoughts about it and is studying how to make a plan for victory.”

A close follower of former Prime Minister Lee also said that, “Lee will announce his run. Basically, he does not agree with the attempts to dissolve the party by denying the authenticity of the Uri Party and participatory government, and the attempts to form a unified force without consulting with members who follow President Roh.”

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Han said that, “I think it is time to put the nation’s power together. In order to do so, leadership that stresses communication and harmony is very necessary now.”

Kim Hyuk-kyu, a lawmaker of the Uri Party, also plans to announce his candidacy at the end of this month or early next month. Kim is known to be a major member of the pro-Roh circle.

`Roh Empowers 3 Confidants With North Korea Card’

Korea Times, May 3, 2007

By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter

Rep. Kim Hyeong-joo of the pro-government Uri Party singled out Thursday three politicians who are believed to have been empowered by President Roh Moo-hyun to play the ``North Korea card.''

They include two former Prime Ministers Han Myeong-sook and Lee Hae-chan, along with Rep. Kim Hyuk-kyu of the Uri Party, the lawmaker said in an interview with Dong-A Ilbo newspaper.

Kim Hyeong-joo accompanied former Prime Minister Han on her visit to Moscow to attend the funeral of the late Russian President Boris Yelsin.

His observation came amid reports that Han carried a letter from Roh to Russian President Vladimir Putin asking Moscow to join in a cross-continent railway project.

It is unclear why Roh sent such a letter to Putin because the Russian government has already expressed enthusiasm for the project, party sources said.

They added President Roh probably intends to empower some of his closest political allies to play the North Korea card to help them in the lead-up to the Dec. 19 presidential race.

Han has declared her bid for the presidential election, while the remaining two have yet to clarify if they are seeking nomination.

Former Prime Minister Lee visited Pyongyang in March and on his return to Seoul called for a four-way summit of the two Koreas, the U.S. and China before the election.

Lee is scheduled to visit the U.S. soon and meet Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to discuss the possibility of a multilateral summit, according to an inside source.

Rep. Kim Hyuk-kyu, the former governor of South Gyeongsang Province, is currently in Pyongyang to discuss ways of boosting inter-Korean economic cooperation.

Rep. Yang Hung-il, spokesperson of a group of 20-odd lawmakers who deserted the Uri Party, argued that the pro-government party's North Korea rush is a political move ahead of the presidential poll.

He pointed out that during previous presidential campaigns, North Korea was one of core campaign issues.

The question is if the president has influence over the nomination, political insiders said.

Given the unique political circumstances, the incumbent president can enjoy considerable influence over who is nominated, they added.

They pointed out two factors shaping the unique political environment _ Roh's surging approval ratings in the late-term period and lackluster progress on the creation of a new party by the Uri deserters.

They said these factors create a favorable environment for the president to have a greater say in the nomination.

Pollsters said the successful conclusion of free trade talks with the U.S. in early April raised Roh's approval ratings.

According to the latest poll by the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper, Roh's approval rating has surged to 31.1 percent.

hkang@koreatimes.co.kr

Photo: Uri leadership near break-up

JoongAng Ilbo, January 12, 2007

DongA:  "Incumbent and former leaders of the Uri Party at a Seoul hotel restaurant yesterday, where they met to discuss the cracks in their party's foundation. From left, first row: Kim Han-gill, floor leader; Chung Dong-young, a former chairman; Chairman Kim Geun-tae. From left behind Mr. Chung: Chung Sye-kyun, Chun Jung-bae and Kim Hyuk-kyu. [YONHAP]"

DJ's shadow looms over Goh

Korea Herald, November 9, 2006 (Date of print addition)

In an apparent shot at Kim Dae-jung, former president and the architect of sunshine policy, former Prime Minister Goh Kun, a popular presidential aspirant, called for some adjustments to the policy of engaging North Korea in the wake of its atomic test.

His remarks came as President Roh Moo-hyun appears to be trying to tout votes in Jeolla Province by aligning with his predecessor, Kim Dae-jung, in a bid to boost his party's chance of winning the 2007 presidential race.

Goh and the DP are strongly backed in Jeolla Province, but Kim continues to exert great political influence in the southwestern region even after his retirement from politics in 2002.

DJ’s Move Fuels Realignment of Political Parties

Korea Times, November 8, 2006

By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter

Former President Kim Dae-jung has recently been increasing political activities at a time when the governing camp is seeking a political regrouping ahead of next year’s presidential election due to its plummeting public approval rating.

The main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) and other parties, meanwhile, denounced President Roh Moo-hyun and his predecessor Kim for what it calls political maneuvering.