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Grab about 70 National Assembly seats that had been held by liberals
April 11, 2008
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Following Wednesday’s elections, political conservatives will hold about two-thirds of the seats in the 299-member National Assembly, pushing aside the liberals who have held the majority for the last decade. Conservative politicians took about 70 seats that had been held by liberals. Wednesday’s elections were clear triumphs for the conservative Park Geun-hye, daughter of the late military president Park Chung Hee, as well as President Lee Myung-bak, who will have a friendly majority to work with. The losers, however, include the so-called 386-generation lawmakers and many of the democracy fighters from the 1970s. Only one-third of the 386 generation lawmakers (the term coined several years ago to describe people in their 30s, who went to college in the 1980s and were born in the 1960s), won seats. Many of the 1970s democracy fighters, such as Kim Geun-tae, Rhyu Si-min and Yoo Ihn-tae, no longer have seats in the Assembly. “I am worried that there won’t be any checks and balances in the legislature anymore,” said Rhee Mok-hee, a liberal United Democrat who also lost his seat in the election. He said the recent presidential election had a big influence on the legislative election, because the public hoped conservatives, led by the pro-economy president Lee, could revitalize the economy. Lee’s Grand National Party has the most seats, winning 153 to snatch a narrow majority in the National Assembly. He has plenty more lawmakers who share his ideology, however. The conservative Pro-Park United and the Liberty Forward Party both share Lee’s pro-business platform that calls for strengthening ties with the United States while getting tougher on North Korea. The prospects are murkier for Lee’s domestic agenda, however, such as his controversial pledges to reform English education and build a cross-country canal. The Pro-Park and Liberty Forward lawmakers oppose the canal plan and bitterness lingers among numerous conservatives who believe they were not allowed to run for re-election under the Grand National Party banner because they were allied with Park Geun-hye. She and Lee have battled for control in the party. Many of Park’s followers ran either as independents or as members of the Pro-Park United party. Today, they are planning to return to the GNP. Park, who never left the GNP and is now a four-time lawmaker after winning re-election easily, told the lawmakers she hoped they would win independently then return to the party that spurned them. That’s exactly what they are planning to do, according to Kim Moo-sung, a Park supporter who won as an independent candidate this year in the Namgu B district in Busan, known for its conservative orientation. “The confusion sprouted because of the wrongful [GNP] nomination process,” Kim said. “Our primary goal is to apply for our return and enter the party without any prior conditions.”
The GNP is divided on whether to let them back in. Ahn Sang-soo, the GNP floor leader, said in a radio interview yesterday morning that his party could not accept the people who walked out to create their own party or to run independently. Kang Jae-sup, the head of the party, however, said he wants to take “many things into consideration” before making any decisions. President Lee’s wing of the party is now in an uproar, party strategists say. Lee Jae-oh and Lee Bang-ho, two key lawmakers who were loyal to Lee Myung-bak, lost re-election bids to the National Assembly. Lee Jae-oh, an advocate of the grand canal plan, lost to moderate candidate Moon Kook-hyun in northern Seoul while Lee Bang-ho, known for taking a hard line against Park’s wing, lost to radical liberal Kang Ki-kab in the harbor city of Sacheon, who got support from many of the industrial labor unions that once sup-ported Lee Bang-ho. Lee Jae-oh could not be reached for comment. He he is planning to get some rest, according to one of his aides. Lee Bang-ho, shocked that he lost to a minor party candidate, resigned his GNP post as general secretary and said he wants to go on vacation for a while. The problem, now, for Lee’s wing is to find a new advocate to lead them. Some in the party suggest it will be Lee Sang-deuk, the president’s older brother and a six-time GNP lawmaker. Others suggest that it will be Chung Doo-un, who has been called Lee’s “true confidante” since the time Lee was mayor of Seoul and Chung was his deputy. Kim Min-jeon, a political scientist from Kyung Hee University, refuted that Korean society has turned rightward but said democracy issues were no longer at the top of voters’ agendas. Some liberals blamed themselves for being not able to meet the voters’ expectations. “Many of the ordinary public are having a hard time with their basic standard of living,” said Roe Hoe-chan, a member of the New Progressive Party who lost his bid for a seat. “People need progressive parties to make their lives better. But most liberal parties are hanging on past ideologies, such as taking a lenient stance toward the North or advocating for giant labor unions.” Sohn Hak-kyu, the head of the United Democratic Party, said he accepted his party’s defeat — and his own — as part of a nationwide call for liberals to repent. Sohn left the Grand National Party to run for the presidency with the liberal party last year. In a press conference yesterday, Sohn announced that he will not run for a party leadership post. He said he still plans to stay in the United Democratic Party, however, as a rank-and-file member. By Kim Jung-ha, Namkoong Wook JoongAng Ilbo/ Lee Min-a Staff Reporter [[mina@joongang.co.kr]] |
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