March 2007

April 2007

May 2007

June 2007

July 2007

PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFULS

Presidential Poll (Korea Times) (30 Dec 2005)

The 20 May 2006 attack on Park Geun-hye benefitted not only the GNP, but pushed her to the lead of presidential hopefuls. In a 20-22 May 2006 survey conducted by MBC, Park placed first with 21.5 percent, followed by former Prime Minister Goh Kun with 21.1 percent. Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak, who ranked first after the successful restoration of the Chonggyechon stream in downtown Seoul late last year, placed third with 18.1 percent. Lee's approval rating plummeted after allegations were raised in March that he had the free use of a public tennis court in return for business favors, but he regained lost ground rapidly as people forgot about the incident.

In Jan 2006, Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak placed first in the survey with an approval rating of 23.3 percent, overtaking former Prime Minister Goh Kun, who had topped most of the recent polls, by a tantalizing 0.5-percentage point. Rep. Park Geun-hye, chairwoman of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP), found her place at third (19.9 percent) and Unification Minister Chung Dong-young was fourth (6.4 percent).

Lee, former CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction, enjoyed strong support from residents in Seoul (33.8 percent), Inchon and Kyonggi Province (29.1 percent), business owners (31.1 percent) and those in their 50s (30.5 percent).... Goh's supporters are white-collar workers (28.4 percent), residents in the Cholla provinces (34.2 percent), Uri Party backers (32.5 percent) and Democratic Party supporters (41.3 percent). Park, the third-placed runner, is still considered a strong candidate, who enjoys overall support from the Kyongsang provinces. She draws support from those over 60 (25.7 percent), housewives (28.6 percent), people who finished middle school and below (31.8 percent).

In Apr 2007, a Dong-a Ilbo poll showed former Seoul mayor Lee Myung-bak ranked first with an approval rating of 45.6 percent, while former chairwoman Park Geun-hye of the major opposition Grand National Party (GNP) came in second place (20.0 percent). Lee and Park as potential presidential candidates rose by 1.7 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively, from the previous survey on February 27. The two were followed by former Gyeonggi provincial governor Sohn Hak-gyu (6.0 percent); former chairman Chung Dong-young of the ruling Uri Party (3.0 percent); lawmaker representative Kwon Young-gil of the Democratic Labor Party (1.9 percent); former prime minister Han Myung-sook (1.7 percent); former justice minister Kang Geum-sil (1.5 percent); former Uri Party chairman Kim Geun-tae (1.3 percent); former president Chung Woon-chan of Seoul National University (0.5 percent); and GNP lawmaker Won Hee-ryong (0.4 percent).

In June 2007 it was reported that President Roh’s job approval ratings dropped by 6.1% to 28.7% in a month. The figures are the result of a survey commissioned to the Korea Research Center (KRC) by this newspaper of 1,000 adults on May 30-31 titled, “The 6th Public Poll Related to the Presidential Election in 2007.” In the fifth round of the survey on April 28, the approval ratings stood at 34.8%. The number of those who did not approve of the president’s job rose by 9.8% to 65.6%.

The top presidential hopefuls are Lee Myung-bak, with a 43.4% rating and Park Geun-hye with a 22.7% rating, both up slightly from 41.7% and 19.3% in the last poll. They are followed by Sohn Hak-gyu (6.7%), the former governor of Gyeonggi Province, Roh Hoi-chan (1.6%), a lawmaker of the Democratic Labor Party, Chung Dong-young (1.4%), the former chief of the Uri Party, Han Myung-sook (1.4%), a former prime minister, Kwon Young-gil (1.4%), a lawmaker of the Democratic Labor Party, and Lee Hae-chan (1.1%), a former prime minister. If Lee Myung-bak from the Grand National Party (GNP) and Sohn Hak-gyu, who split from the ruling party, ran for president today, Lee would capture 69.3% of the vote (21.1% would vote against him), while if Park Geun-hye from the GNP were to run against Sohn today, she would earn 56.7% of the vote (34.1% would vote against her) in a virtual presidential race. The survey was done on the phone and the sample error rate is ±3.1% point with a 95% level of confidence.

After the accusations over Lee Myung-bak's "hidden wealth" and possible land speculation on the part of his wife, there seems to have been an impact from the mudslinging both from the GNP and Uri Party. By mid-June, the approval-rating gap between former Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak and former Grand National Party Chairwoman Park Geun-hye narrowed to less than 20 percent for the first time since an opinion poll was carried out in December 2006 by the Dong-A Ilbo. In a survey conducted on 14 Jun by the Dong-A Ilbo with the Korea Research Center (KRC) of 1,000 adults in the country, Lee’s approval rating recorded 38.5 percent and that of Park reached 25.5 percent, suggesting a popularity gap of 13 percent. Lee’s approval rating dropped by 4.9 percent compared to that of the previous survey conducted by the Dong-A Ilbo on May 30 and 31, plummeting to below 40 percent for the first time since a survey was conducted by the paper last December. Park’s approval ratings rose by 2.8 percent compared to that of the last survey, earning 25.5 percent. The two rival GNP contenders were followed by former Gyeonggi Province Governor Sohn Hak-gyu (6.7 percent), Rep. Kwon Young-ghil of the Democratic Labor Party (2.2 percent), former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan (2.0 percent), and former Uri Party Chairman Chung Dong-young (1.6 percent).

Korea Herald reported on 19 Jun that five presidential candidates of the conservative Grand National Party yesterday in a primary debate offered divided views on Seoul's engagement policy towards the DPRK and the alliance with the US. Two leading aspirants -- former Seoul mayor Lee Myung-bak and former GNP leader Park Geun-hye -- called for the adjustment of the ROK’s lenient stance towards its neighbor, chiding the Roh Moo-hyun administration for its policy of providing economic and humanitarian aid to the DPRK. "We had exerted our utmost effort, but (the North) returned with (the test of) atomic weapons. Now the nation should shift to a principled engagement policy so as to induce the North to reform and open up," he said at the discussion held in Daejeon. Park displayed more conservative color than Lee, calling for a "reciprocal approach based on principles." Underdog presidential hopeful Hong Joon-pyo was also critical of the so-called Sunshine Policy. "Shoveling unconditional aid to the North only resulted in (the explosion of) the atomic bomb," the outspoken politician said. Two other minor runners -- Won Hee-ryong and Go Jin-hwa -- advocated the engagement policy. All candidates except for Hong called for amicable relations with the US. "South Korea is the world's 11th largest economy in terms of gross domestic product. To befit the nation's status, Korea should strengthen its independent policy line on the United States," Hong said. Park underscored the importance of strong ties with the US. She called for "new security declaration" between Seoul and Washington in an effort to restore relations with the United States, which critics say have soured under the Roh administration.

Record Number of Presidential Candidates Registered (Nov 2007) A record 17 candidates registered for the 17th presidential election. Nine candidates registered on 25 Nov, the first day of registration, and eight more registered on 26 Nov. (NOTE: In the end, there were 12 candidates in the running with Chung Dong-young #1, Lee Myung-bak #2, and Lee Hoi-chang #12.)

The candidates already registered were Chung Dong-young of the United New Democratic Party, Lee Myung-bak of the Grand National Party, Kwon Young-ghil of the Democratic Labor Party, Rhee In-je of the Democratic Party, Sim Dae-pyong of the People First Party, Moon Kook-hyun of the Creative Korea Party, Chung Kun-mo of the True Owner Coalition, and Geum Min of the Korea Socialist Party.

Candidates registered on 25 Nov include Jang Seong-min of the People’s Choice Party, Huh Kyoung-young of the Republican Party, former prime minister Lee Soo-sung on the ticket of the People’s Coalition for Unity and Advance, and independent and twice-defeated presidential candidate Lee Hoi-chang.

They were to begin their formal 22-day campaign on 27 Nov. The competition will for the first time pit multiple candidates from the ruling against the main opposition camp, both of which have failed to produce single candidates on their own, promising pitched battles in the coming three weeks. The issue of producing single candidates between them could remain a variable until the last moment.

One key variable will be the ongoing criminal investigation of a former business of Lee Myungp-bak at the heart of the so-called BBK scandal. In 1997 and 2002, prosecutors also played a key role behind the scenes when they investigated scandals surrounding presidential candidates ? Kim Dae-jung in 1997 and Lee Hoi-chang in 2002.

This year, 19-year-old voters will go to the polls for the first time after the voting age was lowered. The embargo on opinion poll results has been shortened: where in previous years no polls could be published from the date of registration, this year they can be published until Dec. 12, a week before the election day. All candidates are free to advertise in the streets. In the past, all kinds of gatherings -- even school reunions were banned for fear of political controversy, but those bans have been abolished this time.

Field of Presidential Candidates Narrowing to Three (Dec 2007) Only a week after twelve presidential candidates, the largest number ever, registered their candidacy, it has become clear that the race is essentially between three of them. With 16 days left until election day, on 3 Dec there was a realignment of political groups when the influential independent lawmaker Chung Mong-joon, a scion of the Hyundai family, declared his support for Lee Myung-bak of the Grand National Party, while candidate Sim Dae-pyong of the People First Party decided to throw his weight behind the traditional conservative Lee Hoi-chang, who is running on an independent ticket, and former justice minister Kang Keum-sil came out in favor of Chung Dong-young of the United New Democratic Party.

At his own party headquarters, Sim Dae-pyong signed an agreement making Lee Hoi-chang the single candidate. "We should not entrust important state affairs either to irresponsible left-wing idealists who only have a sleek tongue or to the corrupt and immoral reactionaries who give preferential treatment to the wealthy," he said.

Kang, meanwhile, was attending a meeting of the UNDP campaign committee, where she said, "Candidate Chung Dong-young is the best choice with a legitimate mandate from the reform-minded forces in the broader ruling camp." She vowed to "tell the people of Chung's desire for peace on the Korean Peninsula and for the happiness of ordinary people."

THE PARTY NOMINEES

GRAND NATIONAL PARTY (GNP)

• LEE MYUNG-BAK (GNP): (WINNER IN GNP PRIMARY AND PRESIDENT-ELECT) Lee Myung-bak is the former Mayor of Seoul and member of the GNP. Checkered past with allegations of campaign abuse, but allegations appear as partisan bickering. Lee Myung-bak, a former Seoul mayor. Mr. Lee, called "The Bulldozer," has an image of a hands-on, bricks and mortar kind of fellow. He earned his spurs as an executive at the construction arm of the Hyundai Group; he was elected to the National Assembly in 1996 and cemented his no-nonsense city-builder image as mayor from 2002 until the middle of last year. Largest claim to fame is the restoration of the Cheonggyecheon Stream. He renovated the Cheonggye Stream in the city's center, turning it into an urban park, and reformed the city's public transportation system. He wants to bring on the bulldozers on a national scale as well, championing a canal to run the length of the peninsula.
  
  
  • 1. Registered Residence: Pohang, North Gyeongsang province
    
  • 2. Age: 65
    
  • 3. Education: Dongji Commercial High School; Dept. of Business Administration, Korea University
    
  • 4. Personal Assets: 18 billion won ($19.4 million)
    
  • 5. Military Service: Exempted due to physical illness
    
  • 6. Religion: Protestant
    
  • 7. Family: Married with a son and three daughters
    
  • Statement: I cannot give you the reasons why I should be president. Still, when I look around us, I cannot find a trace of hope anywhere. Lower-class people are suffering from unemployment, the high cost of housing and private education for their children. The order of this country is collapsing, and the foundations of national security are shaking. This unstable situation has continued for too long. The public now wants some changes and hope. I feel a heavy burden on my shoulders.
  Former Hyundai President and current Seoul Mayor Lee is no stranger to controversy. True to his long-time nickname "bulldozer," Lee is well known for devising and implementing large-scale projects single-handedly. His landmark projects have generated much debate over their political purpose; they include restoration of the Chyeonggyechun stream to be finished this October, overhaul of the Seoul City bus system last July, and construction of an opera house that is still being discussed. Lee openly promulgates his intention to run for the presidency and has been speeding up his political moves recently by meeting members of his party, the GNP, and the media. He is acknowledged to be aggressive and realistic but critics say he lacks public friendliness. (Source: Asianews.net.)
  
  

  Lee's childhood portrays Korea's turbulent modern history. His impoverished parents had moved to Osaka, Japan, during the Japanese colonial occupation of Korea which lasted from 1910 to 1945. Lee was born in the Japanese city in 1941, where his father worked as a herdsman. Following Japan's defeat in World War II and Korea's liberation in 1945, his family returned home, and Lee spent most of his childhood in Pohang, a port on Korea's southeast coast.
  
  Looking back on his childhood poverty, Lee has often recounted how sternly his Christian mother raised her children to ensure their success. Lee's parents both died long ago.
  
  "All of us started our day at 4 a.m. She woke us up at that hour and together we made our early morning prayer," he said in his 1995 autobiography titled "There Is No Such Thing As Legend."
  
  One of Lee's two brothers, Sang-deuk, is now the vice speaker of Korea's National Assembly and a five-term lawmaker of the Grand National Party.
  
  Lee attended Dongji Commercial High School in Pohang and went on to enter Seoul's Korea University, one of the country's most prestigious schools.
  
  In or about 1964, Lee served six months in jail for student activities while at Korea University, reputedly for protesting against the upcoming normalization with Japan. Lee graduated subsquently in 1965 at the age of 24.
  
  Lee collected garbage and sold rice snacks to put himself through university before gaining employment at Hyundai Construction and Engineering in 1965.
  
  24 year-old Lee Myung-Bak had nowhere to go. He barely graduated, but due to student activities and prison stay, all his applications for jobs were turned down. Even good examination scores meant nothing. Hyundai Construction’s human resources representative told him bluntly that there is no possibility for an ex-convict. It was a difficult conundrum.
  
  Lee Myung-Bak then wrote a letter to Chung Hwa Dae (the presidential Blue House): “The nation (alt. translation: the state) cannot obstruct an individual’s future. If it were to do so, it would owe an eternal debt to the individual.” Due to this “threat without a threat,” Chung Hwa Dae Deputy Assistant Min Jung-Soo changed his mind, and it was because of the letter that Lee was able to enter Hyundai Construction.
  
  During the job interview, Hyundai Chairman Jung Joo-Yung asked “What do you think ‘construction’ means?” Lee replied “It means creation.” “Why is that?” “Construction is about creating something from nothing.” Jung said of him “This person speaks very well.” Thus began their first meeting. Chairman Jung liked Lee’s fortright and bold manners.
  
  Many have called him a "legend of salaried men." Lee became the youngest professional (i.e. non-family) general manager of a major Chaebol company at age 35, a unique accomplishment in South Korea, particularly in that era. A diligent man quick to make decisions, he climbed the Hyundai ranks unusually quickly to become CEO at the unprecedented age of 36. Under Lee's tenure, Hyundai Construction and Engineering became Korea's export-based growth engine, raking in much-needed foreign currency from Middle Eastern countries in the 1970s and 1980s.
  
  His story became a hit TV drama. He was portrayed as a heroic young man who challenged authoritarian then President Park Chung-hee and fought with foreign mobsters to protect his company's projects, though critics later said his role was much hyped and faked.
  
  His career blossomed, but the workaholic husband had little time for his wife and four children. The man who married Ewha Womans University's "May Queen" -- the beauty queen of Seoul's most prestigious women's university -- spent half his time overseas during his years at Hyundai, he recounts.
  
  Even on his own wedding day, he worked in the office in the morning.
  
  Although Lee's wife, Kim Yoon-ok, made many sacrifices for her husband's career, "I'm now so proud of and grateful to my husband Lee Myung-bak," she wrote on her blog.
  
  His years at Hyundai were not without their flaws. When an employee of the Hyundai firm was abducted while trying to establish a labor union in 1988, Lee was rumored to be behind the crime. But a senior executive came forward as the mastermind, and Lee denied involvement in anti-labor activities.
  
  His decades-long relationship with Hyundai began to unravel when he set his sights on politics. He turned his back on his former boss, then Hyundai Group Chairman Chung Ju-young, who ran for president in 1992, and threw his support behind Chung's rival, Kim Young-sam, who went on to win the election.
  
  "Some people think that I am deeply close to Chairman Chung Ju-young because we were together for a long time, but that's not true. We met for business, and we can separate for business as well," Lee said of his changed position in an interview with Sisa Journal in 1991.
  
  Lee made his political debut in 1992 as a lawmaker with the then ruling New Korea Party, the predecessor of the Grand National Party. He won a second term in 1996, but had to resign shortly thereafter, when he was found to have violated election fund laws by trying to buy off a whistle-blower. His "legend" image was much tarnished.
  
  Lee's fame rebounded in 2002 when he was elected mayor of Seoul. In the ensuing five years, Lee earned many fans and foes for spearheading ground-breaking projects such as the restoration of a downtown stream and the creation of bus-only traffic lanes, which dramatically changed Seoul's landscape.
  
  The restoration of the 6-km-long Cheonggye Stream, which was covered by asphalt roads during the industrialization era, initially provoked massive protest from environmentalists, historians and street vendors who worked along the stream.
  
  But "The Bulldozer" went ahead anyway, and in 2005, the stream was re-opened. Lee's controversial project became Seoul's most beloved new tourist attraction, while Time Magazine called Lee a "hero of the environment" in a recent issue.
  
  "I met people 4,200 times to persuade them to support the Cheonggye Stream project. There is no government office that makes so much of an effort for a project. There's nothing that can't be done if you meet your opponents 1,000 times," Lee, known to be a devout Christian, said in a recent speech to his Somang Church.
  
  The popular mayor then moved on, winning the presidential nomination of the popular Grand National Party in August by beating Park Geun-hye, a fixture of the conservative party as its former chairperson and daughter of late President Park Chung-hee. With most voters wanting to end 10 years of liberal rule, polls have consistently given Lee an overwhelming lead.
  
  However, much as his successful past has been plagued by rumors and criticism, his presidency also looks likely to be haunted by allegations of ethical lapses.
  
  Lee may have to face questioning by the prosecution before he takes office on Feb. 25, as an independent investigation into his financial past will kick off soon. Lawmakers voted to launch the probe on the eve of the election following the disclosure of a controversial video clip of Lee, in which he appears to say in a college lecture that in 2000, he established BBK, an investment firm that was later used by his alleged business partner for stock manipulation and embezzlement.
  
  The footage is a stark contrast to his earlier claim that he had no involvement whatsoever with BBK. The prosecution had earlier dismissed all charges against him. Lee will be the nation's first president-elect to face a probe.
  
  Amid the financial scandal, the wealthiest politician in the country has pledged to donate all his assets to the needy, saying "All I need is a house." His assets were worth 35.3 billion won (US$37.6 million) as of the end of last year. Critics say he is buying votes.
  
  It remains to be seen how the business legend will transform himself into a head of state, but one thing seems to be sure in voters' minds: He will get things done at any cost. He is a man who worked in the office on his own wedding day. (Source: Yonhap News and DPRK Studies.)

  In Mar 2006, Lee's approval rating plummeted after allegations were raised that he had the free use of a public tennis court in return for business favors. Though the fees were paid by an anonymous donor, the cloud lingered over Lee's head over this seemingly trivial affair. Despite the affair, Lee still was well-thought of by constituents because of the Chyeonggyechun Stream project that has brought so much media attention to the area.
  
  For the 31 May 2006 elections, Lee stepped down as Seoul mayor paving the way for his run for the presidency. In May 2006, he had fallen from the front-runner amongst presidential hopefuls to third.
  
  In July 2006, after Park Geun-hye had stepped down as Chairman and replaced by Kang Jae-sup, the Lee Myung-bak faction saw the Party Presidential Nomination process to their disadvantage and attempted to change the rules. Although Park Geun-hye, former chairwoman, won the competition for the "supreme manager" of the presidential candidate race, the committee, whose role is to check and balance, was still left to be constituted. Lee Jae-oh, GNP supreme council member and Floor Leader, complained of the fairness of the presidential candidate race. Lee argued, "There was a structural limit to a fair party convention as one person had been controlling the party and the supporters in charge of the central party and local branches for a long time. We first need to constitute a fair competition committee with those we can trust." His underlying intention is to transfer the authority of presidential candidate race management to the committee -- instead of Park Geun-hye. It means that the "rules of game," including how to organize the electoral group, can be changed through the fair competition committee. According to the current party rules, the electoral group is constituted with 20 percent delegates, 30 percent party members, 30 percent general people, and 20 percent poll results. The ratio of party members and general people is half and half. Kang Jae-sup argued it was not the right time to change the rules and viewed a change in the constitution of the party was needed instead..
  
  Members close to former Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak stepped up calls to allocate more votes to general public outside the party. They want "an open primary," in which all voters are eligible to cast ballots regardless of their party affiliation. Under the party's statutes, party delegates and registered members account for 50 percent of the voters, while the other half are non-member ballots. Lee's rival, Rep. Park Geun-hye and her supporters wanted to retain the current rules, which were revised last year under her leadership.
  
  
  Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak
  
  In Jan 2007, things started getting nasty within the GNP ranks as Lee Myung-bak stated that anyone without children should not be President -- aimed at Park Geun-hye who is not married and without children. (SITE NOTE: Of course, this is patently ridiculous as Presidents throughout the world have been without children -- and what does having no children have to do with education or anything?) In response, Park Geun-hye fired back that people who have "evaded" serving in the military should not be President. Lee did not serve as he was exempted due to a respiratory condition. (SITE NOTE: Again what has this to do with qualifications to be President?) The mud-slinging had begun in earnest as the Uri Party was on the verge of dissolution and Goh Kun had dropped out of the race in Jan 2007. At that point, Lee held the lead in the popularity polls -- but so did Goh when he entered in 2006.
  
  In Feb 2007, the allegations made by a former legal advisor to Rep. Park Geun-hye against former Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak was swept off the table as not worth investigating. Park claimed that she told Chung not to pursue the matter several times. But Chung claimed the people needed to know of Lee's lack of ethics. Chung In-bong, a lawyer and former GNP lawmaker, submitted to the party's organizing committee for the primary election documents -- mostly newspaper clippings -- that raised questions about the integrity of Lee Myung-bak. The documents showed Lee violated the Election Law in the 1996 National Assembly elections. Lee was elected as a lawmaker in 1996. His aide at the time, Kim Yu-chan, said Mr. Lee spent more in campaign funds than he reported. Mr. Lee then urged Mr. Kim to flee to Hong Kong. The Supreme Court convicted Mr. Lee of election violations in 1998. Mr. Kim was also convicted in a separate case on the same election violation charge. Mr. Lee was fined 7 million won ($7,500), and Mr. Kim was fined 3 million. Neither served time in jail. However, Mr. Lee lost his Assembly seat in 1998 after the Supreme Court convicted him of the election law violation and of urging Mr. Kim to flee so he could avoid the charges.
  
  The party decided not to conduct an investigation into Chung's allegations as it had already been investigated with a conviction. Lee's side stated that even knowing about the 1996 case, the public still elected Mr. Lee as mayor of Seoul in 2002. However, it took back its initial response after Kim Yu-chan, a former aide to Mr. Lee in 1995 and 1996, came forward and admitted Lee had bribed him to perjure himself.
  
  On 20 Feb, Kim Yu-chan claimed he took 125 million won ($135,000) to lie during an election violation case. (NOTE: The Korea Herald said he received 120 million won ($128,000) from Lee in exchange for perjuring himself in the trial in 1997 and 1998.) Mr. Kim said he took the money in payments, starting in 1997, in return for perjuring himself on the stand. Mr. Kim himself originally brought forward the election law violation case, making the surprise revelation then that Mr. Lee had spent more campaign funds than he publicly reported in his 1996 National Assembly election race. Shortly after making the revelation, however, Mr. Kim left for Hong Kong, leaving behind a note saying his comments about Mr. Lee's violations were untrue. Mr. Kim said last Friday that he left for Hong Kong because Mr. Lee urged him to do so -- after he received $18,000, according to court transcripts. He returned the next year, in 1997, for the trials. Mr. Kim that Mr. Lee's aides arranged the perjury. "Mr. Lee's aides told me to say this and that at court for Mr. Lee," Mr. Kim said. "I know I am responsible for the perjury, but now I am telling the truth." Mr. Kim said he was planning to make more revelations soon against Mr. Lee in a book that he has tentatively called the "Lee Myung-bak Report." He plans to reveal details of Lee's morally questionable relationships with women and his acquisition of property, in the book to be released late February or early March.
  
  Former Seoul mayor Lee and former GNP chair Park showed a 2.9 percentage point drop and 2.5 percentage point drop in Feb 2007, respectively. Gallup attributed the drops to the recent spat between the two over alleged wrongdoings.
  
  (NOTE: Though no action was taken by the GNP because of the damage it would do to its image, the act has placed the fact before the public as the media reported it widely -- though initially NOT mentioning anything about the conviction in their coverage of Lee's campaign. This says something of how the media views politicians as corruption is accepted -- but only becomes interesting when mud is being flung. Chung initiated the allegations of Lee's "lack of morality" with the purpose publicizing Lee's ethical suitability for President. Lee and Park have been competing to win the GNP's ticket to run in the Dec. 19 presidential election. Since last October, Lee has topped polls with a more than 40 percent approval rating followed by Park with about 20 percent.)
  
  In Apr 2007, with Lee ahead in the polls, the sniping between Lee and Park heated up. The GNP tried to change the rules of the nomination process for the GNP with both Lee and Park proposing different processes. After the chairman of the GNP backed Lee's proposal, Park hinted that she may remove herself from the nomination process -- an indication that she might run as an independent -- though she denied this. On 11 May 2007, Lee became the first of the GNP to officially his running for the presidency.
  
  Lee Myungbak criticized the current administration's unconditional economic and humanitarian aid and claimed the ROK must help the economic development of the communist nation instead of providing exhaustive support. He suggested that if DPRK abandons its nuclear weapons, the ROK would help them achieve a national per capita income of $3,000 within 10 years. He claimed that it would be possible through aggressive aid in collaboration with the international community; once Washington first remove Pyongyang from its terror-sponsoring nation; but Park criticized this plan that, in order to receive the help of international community, the DPRK must recover its trust from the international community, but it would be very difficult. Lee added that the DPRK had asked to reach $5,000 and stressed the fact that DPRK has shown interest in this plan. Lee also stated he would make a meeting place for dispersed families at the DMZ since this way, DPRK would not need to feel uncomfortable for coming down South, it would save a lot of costs, and more people would be able to meet their separated families.
  
  Lee's Canal Plan Ridiculed In May 2007, there was opposition to Lee's canal plan to construct a canal to run the length of the peninsula. Park Geum-hee attacked the plan as a waste of money. In June 2007, with Lee Myung-bak refusing to accept Park Geun-hye's demands for Lee to withdraw his pledge for a cross-country canal, which is a key plank in his campaign platform, debate over the proposed canal was heating up. The Park faction states that such a cross-country canal is not needed and it would take 60-70 hours for cargo to travel from Seoul to Pusan. The Lee faction states it would take 24 hours and would greatly enhance the economy.
  
  The government issued a report against such a canal, but it was held up from public release for unknown reasons in May 2007. Then a "draft" of the government report was leaked in June that claimed the project was not economically feasible. Lee's faction immediately pointed the finger at the Roh administration as Roh was still attacking Lee despite a ban from NEC. The NEC launched an investigation. The revision report on the Seoul-Busan canal from the Korea Water Resources Corporation is identical to the 37 page document disclosed by the press except in the name of writer on the cover and a line in the conclusion written by the Ministry of Construction and Transportation..
  
  Lee Suspected of Hidden Wealth On 5 Jun 2007, a rumor by a GNP lawmaker circulated that Lee Myung-bak had created a trust fund of some 800 billion won (about $850 million) in the name of his relatives. Rep. Kwak Sung-moon said in a radio interview that he had received such information which he claimed was ``valid.'' However, Kwak had no evidence to substantiate the rumor. Park Geum-hee supporters stated that it had nothing to do with the rumor, but since the financial status of Lee will come out in the campaign, he should make his finances clear. The GNP is accusing Lee of double-talk when addressing the questions. Lee stated he had no land under other people's names, but the GNP stated he didn't say if he had land under his family or relatives names.
  
  By 6 Jul the rumors of Lee's land speculation with his brother and brother-in-law were rampant. Though he has repeated denied any wrong doing, he continues to remain under attack. Further accusations have been made that Lee used his power as governor of Kyonggi Province to increase the value of his real estate. Though Park Geum-hee does not support these rumors, she stated that Lee should reveal his finances -- which in turn continues to fuel the controversy. Lee asked his brother to reveal his finances, but his brother stated that his finances had nothing to do with politics. Lee has accused President Roh of releasing information to inflame the accusations. Most of the attacks by the Uri Party legislators appear unfounded.
  
  Lee Myung-bak's brother-in-law Kim Jae-jeong (58) filed a libel case against GNP lawmakers Yoo Seung-min and Lee Hye-hoon, former lawmaker Seo Cheong-won, and the Kyunghyang Daily newspaper, which said he was involved in real estate speculation. Former GNP Chairwoman Park Geun-hye declined on 11 Jul to offer an apology for raising suspicions over her rival Lee Myung-bak's link to dubious property deals. Park confronted Lee with her suspicions that he is the true owner of lucrative property that was registered to his brother-in-law, Kim Jae-jeong. In return, Kim filed defamation suits against Park Geun-hye. He refused to drop the case even though the GNP and Lee camp demanded him to do so.
  
  On 12 Jul, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors` Office investigated the defamation suit over leaked government documents detailing Lee`s real estate practices. On July 11, it said that the Prosecutors' Office found that 10 people accessed Lee's personal information by analyzing information given by the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, the Ministry of Construction and Transportation, National Tax Service and the Korean National Policy Agency. The information accessed for the last three years was mostly Lee's criminal records. The prosecution is investigating who accessed them and why, and if any of them were leaked outside. The prosecution is considering asking the National Intelligence Service to submit related information in order to get to the bottom of the so-called 'Lee Myung-bak X-file leakage.'
  
  Prosecutors said proceeds from the sale of land in Dogok-dong, southern Seoul linked to Grand National Party frontrunner Lee Myung-bak were invested in a company he also has ties to. Lee has been accused of concealing his assets by registering the land in the names of his brother and brother-in-law, but Lee Sang-eun and Kim Jae-joung insist they were the actual owners and purchased and sold it together. But prosecutors on Wednesday said they have evidence that a man named Lee Young-bae, an asset custodian both for the presidential hopeful and his brother, put the brother's share of W10 billion (US$1=W932) from profits of W26.3 billion from the land sale in a low-interest long-term insurance policy in December 1995 and provided the principal as collateral to borrow several billion won. The loans then went to a company linked to Lee Myung-bak, according to prosecutors. However, Lee Young-bae, the custodian, refused to appear for questioning on a summons and the investigation stalled. By releasing the interim results, the Prosecutors have seriously impacted on Lee's campaign.
  
  In Aug, Park's camp was focusing on the land issue, believing that the investigation results will corroborate their own allegation that Lee is a less-than-solid candidate and the matter could prove an eleventh-hour variable in the primary. Lee had a 10 percent lead in opinion polls.
  
  Prosecutors said proceeds from the sale of land in Dogok-dong, southern Seoul linked to Grand National Party frontrunner Lee Myung-bak were invested in a company he also has ties to. Lee has been accused of concealing his assets by registering the land in the names of his brother and brother-in-law, but Lee Sang-eun and Kim Jae-joung insist they were the actual owners and purchased and sold it together. But prosecutors on Wednesday said they have evidence that a man named Lee Young-bae, an asset custodian both for the presidential hopeful and his brother, put the brother's share of W10 billion (US$1=W932) from profits of W26.3 billion from the land sale in a low-interest long-term insurance policy in December 1995 and provided the principal as collateral to borrow several billion won. The loans then went to a company linked to Lee Myung-bak, according to prosecutors. However, Lee Young-bae, the custodian, refused to appear for questioning on a summons and the investigation stalled. By releasing the interim results, the Prosecutors have seriously impacted on Lee's campaign.
  
  In Aug, Park's camp was focusing on the land issue, believing that the investigation results will corroborate their own allegation that Lee is a less-than-solid candidate and the matter could prove an eleventh-hour variable in the primary. Lee had a 10 percent lead in opinion polls.
  
  Cheong Wa Dae Files Libel Suit (Oct 2007) Cheong Wa Dae continued "waging a war" against Lee Myung-bak. In regular daily briefing sessions Cheon Ho-seon, Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson, criticized the former mayor for the Lee camp's accusations regarding the government's political maneuvering and his campaign pledges on taxation -- calling it "Imprudent political libeling."
  
  On 20 Oct the Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office issued a subpoena to Lee Myung-bak and three other GNP party leaders for questioning as part of a libel investigation. Many experts say the prosecution's measure may spark political conflicts between the GNP and the prosecution since it is rare for the prosecution to summon a presidential candidate of the opposition party ahead of the presidential election. President Roh Moo-hyun`s secretaries filed a suit on 7 Sep against Lee Myung-bak, Chairman Lee Jae-oh, floor leader Ahn Sang-soo, and senior party member Park Gye-dong over the GNP`s allegations that the presidential office was masterminding a scheme to damage Lee`s campaign. The prosecution also summoned an administrator of the presidential secretariat as the representative of the accuser on 28 Sep. The GNP position is that the party already handed in a request to probe the National Intelligence Service, the National Tax Service, and Cheong Wa Dae, which allegedly collaborated to raise suspicions over Lee's real estate transactions. As the investigation is underway, the libel case (proposed by the presidential office) should be dealt with after the ongoing investigation. Thus the GNP has in effect refused the prosecution's request to question Lee.
  
  Political In-fighting Damages GNP (Jul 2007) In Jul, the infighting between Park and Lee continued. As allegations of Lee's involvement in land deals continued, his lead in the polls started to slip -- narrowing the margin between he and Park to under 20 points.
  
  Lee Wins Primary Presidential hopeful Lee Myung-bak defeated rival Park Geun-hye by a narrow margin on on 20 Aug to win the Grand National Party's nomination to run for the 2007 presidential race. Following the results of the vote, the "battle" between Lee and Park, which has dragged on for over a year, came to an end, while the GNP geared itself up for the presidential race. But the fact that Lee defeated Park by a mere 2,452 votes (1.5 percentage point difference) may serve as an obstacle in uniting the two rival camps within the GNP. The GNP presidential candidate selection procedures included a vote of some of its party membership and the factoring in of a public opinion poll. Park Geun-hye won the party vote, but was held back by the opinion poll, and so Lee Myung-bak emerged as the winner. Park congratulated Lee on his win and vowed to return to being a GNP party member working to bring about a change in government -- BUT she did not openly support Lee Myung-bak's campaign.
  
  The progressive ranks were in disarray, and Lee enjoyed a commanding lead. However, in October the progressive strategy seemed clear. They were going to attempt the same smear campaigns that led to the defeat of the GNP candidate in 2002 -- along with alliances at the last minute to increase their share of votes. However, this time they chose the "BBK" scandal as their rallying point. To an outsider this smacked of government interference as a special effort was made by the government agencies to investigate -- including illegal search of documents -- wire-tapping and other means to find dirt on Lee Myung-bak. The investigation still was on-going as the presidential elections neared.
  
  In addition, the progressives drew the battle lines based on ideological lines painting the GNP as the party of the rich and business. Even President Roh -- who had been censured twice for electioneering -- reentered the fray in Oct to make disparaging remarks against Lee. Candidate Chung Dong-young is attempting to turn the campaign debate into an ideological battle, and President Roh seems to be trying to back him up. However, Roh's choice was Lee Hae-chan, the man previously hand-selected to succeed him, but who failed in the UNDP primaries. Along the way Chung Dong-young alienated himself from Roh -- calling for Roh's resignation from the Uri Party and distancing the Uri politics from Roh -- and there were hasty attempts at fence-mending. In Oct Roh finally endorsed Chung for the presidency.
  
  Chung and Lee differed on support of Chaebol's operating their own banks and views of economic growth. Lee was for the chaebol's entering the financial markets, while Chung was opposed. The Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) stated that the separation of financial and industrial capital is a policy that restricts industrial capital, including that of conglomerates, from being invested in a bank for ownership. The separation of financial and industrial capital should be relaxed, and a growth-oriented policy should be implemented. Meanwhile, the Bank of Korea is opposed to the idea.
  
  Lee Myung-bak dismissed Chung Dong-young's proposal for a public debate on key national issues and values. Ex-Seoul Mayor Lee, is well known for his blunt word choices, while Chung, a former MBC anchor of the nightly news, is widely known for his political rhetoric. The GNP stated that Chung still is only one of three progressives vying for the presidency so it would be inappropriate at this time. Observers note that Chung is attempting to push Lee around through a series of debates, in turn building an image of himself as a qualified leader with vision and specific plans for the economy.
  
  Previously, the former unification minister characterized his rival Lee as an advocate of the upper class and a ruthless neoliberal pro-business candidate. Lee responded that Chung is a candidate of rhetoric with no content. GNP spokesman Park Heong-joon said that Chung was attempting to divide society into two opposite groups to unify liberals and to motivate undecided voters to join an ideological debate.
  
  Chung Dong-young said he is the candidate for low-income families and for peace on the Korean peninsula. Chung continued to focus on his slogan regarding the ``upper 20 versus the lower 80'' as his key campaign issue. The Chung said his rival Lee Myung-bakwas a candidate for the top 20 percent of the population, while he represented the remaining 80 percent. He portrayed the GNP as "brutal conservatives" versus the UNDP as "peace-loving progressives."
  
  On 25 Oct, Lee Myung-bak slipped slightly -0.2 percent to 50.1, while the progressives except Rhee In-je moved up slightly. In order to blunt comments of his contributions to the demise of the Uri Party, Chung admitted that he bore some responsibility for the failures of the Uri Party. Of course, as he resigned after the defeat of the Uri Party in Apr 2007, he has to do so -- especially since he's trying to take the bows for the Kaesong Industrial Park creation.
  
  A last minute worry for the Lee Myung-bak camp was the persistent rumors that Lee Hoi-chang would reenter the race. A group of supporters for Lee Hoi-chang planned to hold a rally calling for Lee's run for the Dec. 19 presidential election on 23 Oct -- though Lee Hoi-chang stated that his position was as before that he was not running. The move comes amid speculations that Lee, former chairman of the GNP, could participate in the presidential race as an independent if Lee Myung-bak becomes crippled by the BBK scandal. This would effectively split the vote and weaken Lee Myung-bak's position. In order to attempt to offset Lee Hoi-chang's potential bid, Lee Myung-bak offered an olive branch to Park Geum-hee to solicit her support. However, Park refused to meet with Lee. Though Lee Myung-bak still has the lead, the 20 percent support for Lee Hoi-chang has cut into his commanding lead. There is a quandary over how Lee Myung-bak will solve this crisis. Lee offered to share the power with Park on 12 Oct -- meaning the selection of candidates for the April 2008 elections -- as a peace offer.
  
  On 8 Oct, Lee Myung-bak won approval ratings of 37.9 percent, late entrant Lee Hoi-chang 24 percent and United New Democratic Party's Chung Dong-young candidate 13.9 percent in a survey conducted immediately after Lee Hoi-chang announced his third presidential bid. Lee Myng-bak's approval ratings were practically flat since the last poll on Oct.31, when he scored 38.7 percent. Chung witnessed a 3.2 percentage point drop in his support ratings, while Lee Hoi-chang saw a surge from 19.1 percent to 24 percent.
  
  Korea Herald reported on 12 Nov that Park Geun-hye, former GNP chairwoman, offered her support to the party's candidate Lee Myung-bak -- sort of. "I remain unchanged in my view that the party must win the election, and I will do my best to help," Park told reporters. She added "it is not right for Lee Hoi-chang to compete again." Park stopped short of using the term "support" for Lee Myung-bak and appeared negative about Lee's earlier offer of regular three-way meetings with her and GNP chairman Kang Jae-sup -- a proposal that appeared to assure her of the party leadership if Lee is elected. She also appeared to blame Lee Myung-bak at least in part for Lee Hoi-chang's defection from the party. It seems the ex-party chairwoman, Lee Myung-bak’s arch-rival in the party primary, wanted to leave herself room for maneuver depending on whether the suspicions are cleared and what the candidate’s camp does next to seek party unity and reform.
  
  BBK Scandal (Oct-Dec 2007) SEE Lee Denies Involvement in BBK (Oct-Dec 2007) for details on the mudracking saga on Lee Myeong-bak being accused of involvement in the BBK scandal as well as the appointment of a special counsel to reinvestigate Lee after he was cleared by the Prosecutor's Office. The politics of the UNDP and DP -- along with Lee Hoi-chong -- were certainly questionable throughout the process and will extend into 2008 with the special counsel appointed by President Roh before he leaves office. The special counsel investigation may prove unconstitutional -- and the GNP and Lee after his election "hinted" that reprisals may be coming once Lee is cleared after Lee takes office.
  
  The independent probe is scheduled to be carried out for up to 40 days and be completed before Lee's inauguration on Feb. 25. Even if the independent counsel finds Lee involved in any wrongdoing, the counsel is not allowed by law to indict the president-elect after he takes office unless he is accused of treason.
  
  ELECTION DAY (19 Dec) Simmering grievances over economic woes under liberal President Roh Moo-hyun galvanized conservatives and a last-minute political offensive by liberals backfired to produce Lee Myung-bak's apparent massive victory. With 56.8 percent of the votes counted as of 9:57 p.m. (local time), Lee of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) secured 47 percent support, or 6.3 million votes, far ahead of his closest contender, Chung Dong-young of the pro-government United New Democratic Party (UNDP), who got 27.5 percent, or 3.69 million votes. "People want to see Lee revive the economy rather than face a probe before his February inauguration," said Kim Sung-joo, a political scientist at Seoul-based Sungkyunkwan University, agreeing that the probe bill backfired and prompted conservative voters to mass their support behind Lee.
  
  Voter turnout was tallied at a record low of 62.9 percent of 37 million eligible voters, down 7.9 points from the 2002 polls and 17.8 points from the 1997 election, the National Election Commission said, attributing the general voter apathy to excessive smear campaigns over Lee's alleged involvement in a financial scandal, as well as his overwhelming lead throughout the campaign.
  
  Lee is to become the first South Korean president to win a majority vote amid mounting public grievances over skyrocketing property prices, widening economic polarization and rising unemployment under the presidency of liberal Roh Moo-hyun. If officially confirmed as winner, Lee will be inaugurated on Feb. 25 to replace Roh. (Source: Yonhap News.)
  
  As of 11.55 p.m. on Wednesday, with 92.8 percent of the votes counted, Lee had won 10,578,817 votes or 48.3 percent, outdistancing his closest rivals by a margin of over 20 points. Chung Dong-young of the United New Democratic Party won 5,810,857 votes or 26.5 percent, and second runner-up Lee Hoi-chang, the breakaway conservative candidate, landed 3,315,617 votes or 15.1 percent.
  
  The US and other nations were swift to send their congratulations. However, the one item deals with the tranisition of military wartime control to the ROK that Lee stated he would "renegotiate." Ambassador Vershbow was quick to point out that the date has been set and irreversible. Korea watchers here agree that Lee is right of center, but not an ideologue. In addition, as a pragmatist trained by his years in the business community, his presidential theme is seen as the economic advancement of his nation. They don't see his North Korea policy veering away from that of the Roh administration, as he seeks to continue to engage Pyongyang through the six-party talks. It was anticipated that Lee would attach more conditions to giving incentives to the North -- and the North is eager to maintain inter-Korea relations.
  
  Transition Team (Dec 2007) It appeared that Lee prefered "civilian" members on the transition team instead of politicians. The key pending issues with the new administration will be the same as with the outgoing government -- resolving the North Korean nuclear issue, passing the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) and completing the alliance transformation. Sookmyung Women's University President Lee Kyung-sook was appointed on 26 Dec to head the Transition Committee -- the first women appointed since such body was set up in 1998. Kim Hyong-o, a four-term Grand National Party lawmaker and former floor leader, becomes vice chairman. The president-elect named GNP lawmakers Yim Tae-hee and Joo Ho-young as his chief secretary and spokesman.
  
  When President-elect Lee appointed Lee Kyung-sook as the committee chairman, the GNP saw her as a figurehead. Particularly, when Kim Hyung-o, the four-time lawmaker, was selected as the vice-chairman of the transition committee, many people speculated that Kim would actually lead the committee. As it turned out, Lee took aggressively took control of all the meetings. Lee said, “Above all, we have to hold the higher moral ground for the activities of the transition committee. Based on the framework of leadership for serving people, like the president-elect said, we should set specific policies.” She added, “ We should develop policies that can protect the socially marginalized and ordinary citizens, that can wipe away people’s tears, and that can fit the standard of the public. In the center of those policies stand people.”
  
  The Transition Committee consists of one special committee and seven subcommittees. Under the chairwoman, the special committee is tasked with boosting national competitiveness and comprises six taskforces in areas like government reform and deregulation and inviting investment. The working-level subcommittees will deal with planning and coordination; political affairs; foreign, unification and national security affairs; public administration; economic affairs 1 and 2; and social, education and culture affairs. (SITE NOTE: The one thing that Lee will have at least is no outlaws on his transition team like Roh had when one wanted "student dissident" wanted by the police turned up on his transition team.)
  
  The presidential transition team has set its agenda for eight policies, including a speedy reorganization of government offices. The eight policies are bread-and-butter issues for low-income and middle-class citizens; restructuring the public sector and government reorganization; attracting foreign investment and promotion of domestic investment; education reform; stabilization of real estate prices; anti-corruption; increasing youth employment; and childcare and welfare for senior citizens. However, foreign and security affairs, including the North Korean nuclear issue and inter-Korean relations, are excluded from the agenda. Transition and GNP On top of Lee Myung-bak asserted that the GNP policy of the President not interfering in the GNP internal politics (exerting influence in the selection of candidates, etc.) needed to be changed. Lee also seemed to be strengthening his position that as the President wanted to be the head of the party. The biggest loser in such a move would be Park Geum-hee's move to secure her position in the GNP leadership.
  
  Lee and his key aides are apparently contemplating a massive change in the GNP's parliamentary makeup in the general election in April next year. The incoming president sent a chill down the party's collective spine on 27 Dec, when he stressed "sacrifice" at a meeting with GNP lawmakers and representatives of ordinary party members. "The GNP should approach closer to the public," he said. "In the process, you may be required to make personal sacrifices." He criticized factional maneuvering by some lawmakers, saying, "Forming factions based on the result of the party presidential candidate nomination, which is a bygone, is anachronistic. You shouldn't think that you can hold on to your post if you join a specific faction or group." A lawmaker close to Lee said his remarks were a warning against factional demands for a place at the feeding troughs. "Some 40 percent or more of current party lawmakers will not win a candidacy nomination again," he added.
  
  Transition Team and Streamlining Government President-elect Lee Myung-bak's transition team is planning to work out by mid January a blueprint for streamlining government organizations, which critics say have become bloated during the 10-year liberal rule. New Cabinet ministers have to undergo parliamentary confirmation hearings before Lee is sworn in on Feb. 25.
  
  The overhaul of government ministries and agencies, including abolition and merger of organizations, will be "completed on the basis of national consensus" in the nearest possible future. But the transition team will also pay attention to the morale of government officials, because stability in public officialdom matters. However, it did admit that some public sector jobs will be lost. In this regard, the transition team will begin screening five different reports on the reform of government organizations compiled by scholars and experts.
  
  The common point of the reports is to drastically reorganize and integrate government ministries and agencies by their functions, according to other members of the transition team. One possible example is the merger of the Unification Ministry and the Foreign Ministry, transition team officials said, noting North Korea has become the centerpiece of the nation's foreign policies.
  
  Also being considered is streamlining the Finance Ministry, the Planning and Budget Ministry, the Fair Trade Commission, the Financial Supervisory Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service. The Commerce, Industry and Energy Ministry and the Communication and Information Ministry are also being considered for a major change, and the merger between the Health and Welfare Ministry and the Gender Equality Ministry is also likely. The number of government committees has increased by 156 since Roh took office in early 2003 and the number now totals 416. The figures show that an average 2.6 committees have been established per month during the incumbent government. (SITE NOTE: Lee also appointed the first foreigner, David Eldon, chairman of the Dubai International Finance Authority, to his transition team as co-chairman for strengthening national competiveness.)
  
  Kim said the committee is also concerned because some government agencies continue to increase their personnel. “We expect the current government to use prudence in reshuffling senior officials who will continue to work under the next government. We also hope that the government will discuss with us the reshuffling of officials whose terms are guaranteed by law, with less than two months remaining before the presidential term expires."
  
  On 2 Jan 2008, Lee hinted as slimming down the Finance Ministry. "I was impressed by the way Japan restructured its Ministry of Finance,” Lee said, from the old Okurasho, sometimes described as the hub of real bureaucratic power in Japan's economy, and an intellectual and political force as well as an economic one, to the modern Zaimusho. In the process of restructuring central government agencies in 2001, Japan replaced the Okurasho that had controlled all functions of budget, finance, taxation, monetary policy, planning, audit and supply, with the Zaimu-sho, a ministry handling only finance, taxation and monetary policy.
  
  Lee told committee members to think again if they were planning to promote only the interests of certain government agencies. Some government officials wonder whether that forebodes massive restructuring of the economic ministries. Nothing concrete has been reviewed” in terms of restructuring Korea’s Ministry of Finance and Economy. But another committee member said Lee “is paying attention to what success Japan achieved in government restructuring by drastically downsizing the Okurasho and reorganizing the Ministry of Education into the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and in abolishing the standardization policy for high schools." He said it was highly likely there will be restructuring in key government sectors such as economy and education, and the new government will downsize agencies, ease regulations, and transfer some functions to the private sector.
  
  Transition Team and Incumbent Government President Roh Moo-hyun will delay the replacement of ranking government officials whose fixed tenures are due to expire before the inauguration of President-elect Lee Myung-bak on Feb. 25. The outgoing president's appointments of officials to ranking government posts with fixed tenures have been traditionally regarded as a transgression of political etiquette against the incoming leader. In a media interview in Sep 2007, Lee Myung-bak opposed the appointment of a prosecutor general and chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection by the current government, but Roh Moo-hyun did it anyway. (SITE NOTE: The Roh administration cannot be trusted on this. A Cheong Wa Dae official said, "We have not heard any word from the PTC yet. If personnel movement is inevitable, we will consult with the PTC. Otherwise, we will postpone personnel movements." He added, "In the case of senior officials of state-owned enterprises, they are publicly hired. So personnel management of those enterprises can be done independent of the request. But we can have words with PTC." In other words, we are going to do as we damn well please until we are forced from office.)
  
  The Transition Committee on 27 Dec urged Cheong Wa Dae to hand over all administrative records intact. Committee Vice Chairman Kim Hyong-o, in an apparent warning against the temptations to destroy files, said, "We expect the current government to preserve records of all activities it has carried out and faithfully cooperate with the Transition Committee in submitting data the committee will request in the future."
  
  A committee official said, "There is a chance that Cheong Wa Dae and government agencies will attempt to destroy data of their policy failures, or that the National Intelligence Service and the National Tax Service will attempt to systematically cover up how they leaked personal information of president-elect Lee Myung-bak." (SITE NOTE: It appears that the Lee Administration is preparing to do some "payback" once in office. The plans are in the works to indict the Roh administration and call it the "will of the people.")
  
  Transition Team and Canal Proposal The committee hosted a breakfast meeting for the CEOs of five major local builders on Dec. 28 to give them a detailed briefing on the cross-country canal project. It asked them to give positive thought to whether to join the project. The committee asked them to study the feasibility of the canal project “based on business principles, given that it is an investment project led by private businesses." The CEOs were from Korea’s five largest construction firms -- Daewoo Engineering and Construction, Samsung Corporation, GS Engineering & Construction, Daelim Industrial, and Lee’s own old stomping ground Hyundai Engineering & Construction. The CEOs reportedly signaled their willingness to take part. One executive with a construction firm said, "Though nothing has materialized yet, we will give serious thought to the feasibility of the project if we are formally asked to."
  
  The president elect’s cross-country canal project is a fait accompli and will start even before the general election on April 9, lawmaker Lee Jae-oh, a Lee Myung-bak loyalist, told the Chosun Ilbo on Tuesday. He confirmed that the project will start shortly after the president is sworn in on Feb. 25. Lawmaker Lee revealed a detailed timetable for the canal project, saying that the groundbreaking work for a Honam canal will begin at the Youngsan River in southwestern Korea in February 2009. The Honam canal is the first phase of the project along with a canal linking Seoul and Busan. Lawmaker Lee is an advisor to the taskforce overseeing the canal project at the transition committee.
  
  This controversial plan may stir up further calls for research as environmentalists and transportation experts question the need for such a canal.
  
  Transition Team and Economic Policy The Presidential Transition Committee is set to announce a series of policies and amendments in an effort to lay the ground work for the revitalization of the economy before President-elect Lee Myung-bak takes office on February 25. “In line with the road map concerning the economy (revision of the financial industry restructuring law, tailored measures for small and medium-sized companies, plans to lift unreasonable regulations and reform of the public sector, as well as measures to reinvigorate the traditional markets and to assist the self-employed and small business owners), these details will be announced by January 18 before President-elect Lee is sworn in,” said a transition committee official on Tuesday. The transition team will first release a draft of the revised financial restructuring law, which would limit the commercial industries’ investment in the financial sector by January 18.
  
  In addition, the team is aiming to announce the details of the so-called “Tailored Measures for Small and Medium-sized Companies.” According to the measures, the Korea Development Bank will be split into a monetary policy institute and an investment bank while the money acquired in the process of privatizing the investment bank will be injected to support small- and medium-sized firms.
  
  The transition committee is also planning to announce deregulatory measures, such as the abolishment of restrictive shareholding regulations currently imposed on domestic conglomerates as well as replace the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act with the introduction of the Competition Promotion Act.
  
  The committee will focus on the “Six Major Policies,” and the “Declaration on Korea’s Advancement” from January 20 to February 24. The six policies aim to establish a science and technology powerhouse; the research and development of new growth engine; energy conservation and procurement of natural resources; the development of strategies and promotion of exports for the environmental industry; and a government-led promotion of Western and Korean medical industries.
  
  Transition Team and New Administration Lineup President-elect Lee is also planning to complete the selection of the prime minister and the heads of each ministry by January 16. According to sources, the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs recently requested the transition committee submit a list of cabinet members for the new administration by January 16.

• PARK GEUN-HYE (GNP): (DEFEATED IN PRIMARY) After the disastrous decision to impeach Roh in Mar 2004, the GNP brought Park Geun-hye in to "save the party." Surprisingly, she proved to be effective in turning the negative public opinion around enough to prevent a total debacle for the party. In the Apr 2004 election, as expected the Uri Party received a "backlash" vote that put it into power. Roh then started to push through his agenda claiming he had a mandate from the people -- and the GNP has been almost powerless to stop. However, by May 2005 the GNP had made in roads and took five of the six seats up for grabs in the by-election -- while the Uri Party won none.
  
  
  • 1. Registered Residence: Gumi, North Gyeongsang
    
  • 2. Age: 54
    
  • 3. Education: Seongsim Girls' High School; Dept. of Electronic Engineering, Sogang University
    
  • 4. Personal Assets: 1.23 billion won
    
  • 5. Military Service: Not applicable (woman)
    
  • 6. Religion: No religion
    
  • 7. Family: Not married
    
  • Statement: The public is tired now and the economy is bad. Foreign affairs and national security are wobbling and the public has lost faith in the government. The next president must be able to comfort the public and earn its respect. The government must not meddle with business, and instead must improve the economy by helping them invest and increase the number of jobs. There must be diplomatic power toward the world and North Korea. The next president should be a person who can do well in these areas.
    
    
  Park Geun-hye, the former chairwoman of the party, who led her group to a series of landslide electoral victories in legislative and local elections. Ms. Park's heritage is two-edged: Her father is Park Chung Hee, the strongman ruler of Korea who is reviled as a cruel dictator but lauded for the economic transformation of Korea from a third-world backwater to a dynamic industrial economy. He was assassinated by his intelligence chief in 1979.
  
  Park Geun-hye's main claim to fame is her link to her father Park Chung-hee, who despite being vilified as a tyrannical despot is revered by the Korean populace as the mastermind of the Miracle of the Han that made Korea into an industrial giant. Ms. Park was well known to Koreans in her father's day; she was his official hostess and a stand-in for her mother, who was killed during an earlier assassination attempt directed at her father. Now she wants to claim his mantle in substance, albeit without calling for a return to the oppressive controls that her father used to stifle dissent. To counter Mr. Lee's grand canal plan, she has proposed a "train ferry" between Korea and China to smooth the flow of South Korea's international trade.
  
  She is also taking on Confucian stereotypes of woman politicians, telling interviewers recently, "Women are stronger than men. A mother can feed her children under any circumstances, but children under a father alone are hungry." Park entered politics in 1998 so lacks the "seasoning" of the other candidates, but she has proven an able leader by turning around the disaster of the GNP participation of the Roh Impeachment and the resultant loss at the polls to regaining the popularity of the party. In 1998, Park ran for office as a candidate of the GNP and was elected to parliament in Daegu. She was reelected to the National Assembly in the April 13 general elections in 2000. In the same year, Park gained the GNP vice presidency and came to receive nationwide recognition as a representative politician, just three years after first entering politics.
  
  A third-term lawmaker and current chairwoman of the main opposition GNP, she enjoys steady support from the public with her signature serene image that also radiates a resolute character. Park's support rating both within and outside the GNP skyrocketed last year when she successfully helped the party recover from a strong backlash after it led the impeachment of President Roh. Her feminity gives her an added advantage if she pursues her attempt to become Korea's first woman president. But Park's position at the moment is shaky as a series of government-led probes continue into the contentious past involving her late father. Criticism of her leadership has also recently escalated inside the GNP. (Source: Asianews.net.)
  
  
  GNP Chairman Park Geun-hye
  
  In April 2006, Park Geun-hye announced her intentions to step down as head of the GNP. This was viewed as her opening herself for nomination by the party for the Presidential race in 2007. Candidates must step down from their party leadership one year prior to the start of the campaign. Polls indicate that Park is one of the leading possible candidates for the next presidential election in 2007. In MBC's poll on 2 April 2006, the chairwoman came in second with 20.3 percent, trailing behind former Premier Goh with 23.8 percent. Mayor Lee ranked third with 19.5 percent. In an opinion poll by CBS in mid-May 2006 Park placed first with 27.2 percent, followed by Mayor Lee with 21.9 percent and Goh with 17.7 percent.
  
  Park Geun-hye Attacked during Campaign (May 2006) Park Geun-hye was attacked by a drunken men in western Seoul on 20 May and underwent hours-long surgery at a nearby hospital. Park was canvassing for Oh Se-hoon, GNP candidate for Seoul mayor, in Sinchon in Seoul when one of the men, identified as Ji Chung-ho, 50, allegedly slashed the right side of her face with a utility knife. Police said Ji approached Park Geun-hye as if to shake her hand, but instead took out his box cutter to attack her. In TV footage, Park was walking unsuspectingly amongst the crowd when a hand reaches out from the crowd and slashed at her face. Park Geun-hye instinctively grabbed at the wound. (See OhMy News for video of attack.)
  
  
  GNP Chairman Park Geun-hye Attacked in Seoul on 21 May 2006
  
  According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency which questioned Ji Chung-ho overnight, the 50-year-old suspect has previously been convicted eight times for crimes such as violence, serving a combined jail term of over 14 years. He was imprisoned for 14 years and four months for eight previous convictions before being released in August of last year. He is still on probation. "Ji said that because of our country's diluted democracy, he had to live 15 years behind bars even though he did nothing wrong," Han Jin-ho, chief of the SMPA, told reporters.
  
  

  At first the Prosecutor's Office investigated if there was a conspiracy, but concluded that there was none. Ji, who supposedly lived on 180,000 won/month government aid since March possessed an expensive cell phone and had a substantial amount of cash at the time of detention which he said he borrowed, but would not say from whom. He ran up credit card bills of W7.64 million (US$7,000) over the last six months and spent on average W1.27 million a month on his credit card. As it turned out, the "purchases" on his credit card were really illegal advance transactions from private lenders -- in other words, the people were lending money, but using the credit card "purchase" as a cover. (SITE NOTE: But the next question is who would be foolish enough to trust an ex-con with no job or means of support with loans -- especially in the risky business of illegal loan sharking. Something doesn't add up.)

  Ji later claimed it was the GNP Seoul mayoral candidate, Oh Se-hoon, that he was aiming to target. It was hard to determine if was after Oh or not. Ji said he carefully planned to attack Park in Sinchon, central Seoul, where he is familiar with the surroundings. He visited Oh's election office early on 20 May to find out his campaign schedule. An arrest warrant was issued for Ji for attempted murder as there appears to be evidence that the attack was premeditated and carefully planned.
  
  The second man named Park Jong-ryeol, 54, created a commotion -- and reportedly punched Park Geun-hye in the face, but this proved erroneous. The Park was caught shouting and throwing chairs at the crowd after Ji attacked the GNP chairwoman. Park was found to be a member of the ruling Uri Party and the party has decided to revoke his membership. It was later reported that Park claimed he did not remember the creating the disturbance because of his intoxication. Police initially said both Park and Ji were drunk, but tests later showed that only Park was intoxicated. Police first believed the two suspects were accomplices, but later said the men seemed to have little connection. Park, has been donating 2,000 won every month to the governing Uri Party since early 2004.
  
  The two suspects were detained by GNP officials at the scene and taken to a nearby police station. However, a supposed third suspect fled the scene. Ji and Park at first refused to cooperate with the investigation. Supposedly were shouting the slogan, "Let's save democracy. Long live the Republic of Korea" -- but later information that Park was a member of the Uri Party makes it more likely that it was only he that was shouting this. (SITE NOTE: This incident bodes darkly on the "progressive" candidates as the slogan is from the radical elements of the Uri Party and the Liberal Democratic Party. The fact that Park was a dues paying member of the Uri Party also served as an embarassment -- just days before the 31 May election.)
  
  Park Geun-hye had an approximately 10-centimeter cut (4 inch) to the face from ear to jawline from a utility knife was used. Park received about 17 stitches and her life is not in danger. She then underwent a two-hour operation. Before entering the operating room, Park asked party leaders and officials not to be affected by the incident and to continue with their electioneering.
  
  The office of President Roh Moo-hyun immediately criticized Saturday's assault on opposition leader Park as an "unpardonable incident" and called for a thorough investigation. As the suspects were apprehended at the scene of the assault, the prosecution will swiftly carry out the necessary measures, including their formal arrests. The two men were in custody at the Seodaemun Police Station. Shortly after the incident, Lee Taek-soon, head of the National Police Agency, went to the police station and was personally overseeing the questioning of the suspects, police officers said.
  
  Unfortunately, some GNP members are claiming this as some sort of conspiracy and calling for the resignation of the Police Commissioner. ``The incident appears to be an election terror. The government should thoroughly investigate the suspects and find out why they attacked the GNP leader,'' Rep. Lee Ke-jin, spokesman of the GNP, said. ``The police are attempting to make it look like a mere unfortunate accident by drunkards,'' GNP floor leader Lee Jae-oh said, demanding the police commissioner take responsibility for the incident and resign. (SITE NOTE: The Police Commissioner is a school mate (high school and college) of disgraced Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan who resigned in March 2006. He replaced the former Police Commissioner who was forced to resign in Dec 2005 over allegations of riot police brutality by the Human Rights Commission (controlled by President Roh) after two farmers attacking the riot police with pipes and split bamboo poles were painted victims. It appeared that the GNP wanted to have some paybacks.) (Source: Korea Herald and Korea Times.)
  
  Immediately following the attack, the GNP saw its support rating increase to 48 percent from 45.4 percent after its chairwoman Park Geun-hye was attacked. Support for the ruling Uri Party decreased from 20 percent to 18.9 percent in the 21 May opinion poll. The Democratic Labor Party went from 10.5 percent to 9.7 percent, and the Millennium Democratic Party from 4.3 percent to 3.8 percent. (Source: Chosun Ilbo.) Later polls showed that the GNP had taken the lead over the Uri Party in Daejon and Cheju Island which were previously considered neck-and-neck races. In other words, the "progressive" parties ALL lost support from the voters, while the conservative GNP gained 2.6 percentage points. The 31 May elections ended in a sweep for the GNP and Park Geun-hye's star shined, while the Uri Party's Chung dong-young and Kim Geun-tae sank. Park was stepped down as Chairman on 16 June to allow a change in leadership for the Party.
  
  After Park Geun-hye had stepped down as Chairman, she was replaced by Kang Jae-sup. Although Park Geun-hye, former chairwoman, won the competition for the "supreme manager" of the presidential candidate race, the committee, whose role is to check and balance, was still left to be constituted. A "proxy" battle ensued with Lee Jae-oh, GNP supreme council member and Floor Leader, who complained of the fairness of the presidential candidate race. Lee argued, "There was a structural limit to a fair party convention as one person had been controlling the party and the supporters in charge of the central party and local branches for a long time. We first need to constitute a fair competition committee with those we can trust." His underlying intention is to transfer the authority of presidential candidate race management to the committee -- instead of Park Geun-hye. It means that the "rules of game," including how to organize the electoral group, can be changed through the fair competition committee. According to the current party rules, the electoral group is constituted with 20 percent delegates, 30 percent party members, 30 percent general people, and 20 percent poll results. The ratio of party members and general people is half and half. Kang Jae-sup argued it was not the right time to change the rules and viewed a change in the constitution of the party was needed instead.
  
  In Jan 2007, things started getting nasty within the GNP ranks as Lee Myung-bak, former Seoul Mayor, stated that anyone without children should not be President -- aimed at Park Geun-hye who is not married and without children. (SITE NOTE: Of course, this is patently ridiculous as Presidents throughout the world have been without children -- and what does having no children have to do with education or anything?) In response, Park Geun-hye fired back that people who have "evaded" serving in the military should not be President. Lee did not serve as he was exempted due to a respiratory condition. (SITE NOTE: Again what has this to do with qualifications to be President?) The mud-slinging had begun in earnest as the Uri Party was on the verge of dissolution and Goh Kun had dropped out of the race in Jan 2007. At that point, Lee Myung-bak held the lead in the popularity polls -- but so did Goh when he entered in 2006.
  
  Former Seoul mayor Lee and former GNP chair Park showed a 2.9 percentage point drop and 2.5 percentage point drop in Feb 2007, respectively. Gallup attributed the drops to the recent spat between the two over alleged wrongdoings.
  
  Lee and Park competed to win the GNP’s ticket to run in the Dec. 19 presidential election. After October 2006, Lee topped polls with a more than 40 percent approval rating followed by Park with about 20 percent. In Feb 2007, Park started to pattern herself in the image of former British Prime Minister Margret Thatcher as the "Iron Maiden" -- to show her as Presidential material. In Feb 2007, she started her visits abroad to polish her international image where she called for the renegotiation of the US-ROK strategic alliance to offset the impacts of Roh Moo-hyun's transfer of wartime control.
  
  In Apr 2007, with Lee ahead in the polls, the sniping between Lee and Park heated up. The GNP tried to change the rules of the nomination process for the GNP with both Lee and Park proposing different processes. After the chairman of the GNP backed Lee's proposal, Park hinted that she may remove herself from the nomination process -- an indication that she might run as an independent -- though she denied this.
  
  In May 2007, Park Geum-hee attacked the plan as a waste of money. In June 2007, with Lee Myung-bak refusing to accept Park Geun-hye's demands for Lee to withdraw his pledge for a cross-country canal, which is a key plank in his campaign platform, debate over the proposed canal was heating up. The Park faction states that such a cross-country canal is not needed and it would take 60-70 hours for cargo to travel from Seoul to Pusan. The Lee faction states it would take 24 hours and would greatly enhance the economy.
  
  In May 2007, Park Geum-hee came under attack for her management of a fund that was created by her father, Park Chung-hee, by forcing a Busan businessman to donate his assets to a Scholarship fund. The heirs wanted the assets back and used the Truth Commission to back its demands. Because of the accusations, there were allegations of Park committing tax evasion over the salaries paid to her. On 22 Jun the GNP candidate verification committee said that there was no evidence to support charges that Park Geun-hye had evaded taxes. The committee also said it investigated a series of allegations involving Park and the Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation, whose original assets came from the Buil Scholarship Fund, which was forcibly seized by her father, Park Chung Hee, who ruled Korea as a dictator for nearly 20 years. The government has requested Park to return the assets to the family of Buil’s founder, but she has refused. She had been accused of evading taxes during the time she served as chairwoman of the fund from 1995 to 2005. (SITE NOTE: It is apparent this was a political ploy on the part of the Uri Party and Roh administration because of the timing, as well as the use of the Roh "tool" (the Presidential Truth Commission) to prosecute the legacy of Park Chung-hee.)
  
  On 6 Jul Park Geunhye suggested a DPRK policy with a reciprocal approach based on principle. She criticized that although she agrees with the aim of the June 15, 2000 Joint Declaration to make the DPRK a responsible member of global society through dialogue and cooperation, because it was not a policy with a reciprocal approach based on principles, it let the DPRK develop nuclear weapons and close its doors. She also mentioned that although in the long run, the two Koreas must become a unified economic community through exchange and cooperation, but in the current situation, solving the DPRK's nuclear issue has first importance.
  
  In Jul, the infighting between Park and Lee continued. As allegations of Lee's involvement in land deals continued, his lead in the polls started to slip -- narrowing the margin between he and Park to under 20 points.
  
  In Aug, Park's camp was focusing on the land issue, believing that the investigation results will corroborate their own allegation that Lee is a less-than-solid candidate and the matter could prove an eleventh-hour variable in the primary. Lee had a 10 percent lead in opinion polls.
  
  Presidential hopeful Lee Myung-bak defeated rival Park Geun-hye by a narrow margin on on 20 Aug to win the Grand National Party's nomination to run for the 2007 presidential race. Following the results of the vote, the "battle" between Lee and Park, which has dragged on for over a year, came to an end, while the GNP geared itself up for the presidential race. But the fact that Lee defeated Park by a mere 2,452 votes (1.5 percentage point difference) may serve as an obstacle in uniting the two rival camps within the GNP. In the afternoon of August 20, the news that Park Geun-hye had won the electoral college was conveyed in advance of the official announcement of the party nomination at the Seoul Gymnastics Stadium, the venue of the main opposition Grand National Party national convention. However, the GNP presidential candidate selection procedures included a vote of some of its party membership and the factoring in of a public opinion poll. Park Geun-hye won the party vote, but was held back by the opinion poll, and so Lee Myung-bak emerged as the winner. Park congratulated Lee on his win and vowed to return to being a GNP party member working to bring about a change in government. Regardless, Park’s victory in winning the electoral college vote is meaningful in that it confirms her as the “owner” of the GNP.
  
  The animosity between Lee Myung-bak and Park Geum continued after her conceding -- and Park never came out endorsing Lee. One of Lee's aides made a remark of Geum acting as if she was still running for the nomination in Oct that resulted in deeper animosity. On 7 Oct Lee Hoi-chang entered the race for the presidency -- without having to have passed through any primary. He was to enter the race as an independent and threatened to split the conservative vote. It then fell upon the GNP's former chairwoman Park Geun-hye as to which Lee would rise to victory in this conflict. Lee Hoi-chang showed his expectation for Park's support in his announcement. "Park is not that different from me in our convictions as to how to save the country. I firmly believe we will see eye to eye some day," he said. The Lee Myung-bak camp were also working to form an alliance with Park to oppose the elder Lee -- though initial attempts were met with a cold refusal.
  
  
• HONG JOON-PYO (GNP): (DEFEATED IN PRIMARY) Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, a former public prosecutor and three-term progressive lawmaker, threw his hat in the ring for the GNP primaries. Like other lesser known candidates, he suffers from a lack of popular votes. Hong Joonpyo criticized previous Sunshine Policy and stressed the importance of solving DPRK's nuclear issue. Hong called for substantial independence from US. Hong Joonpyo stated that current independence from the U.S. is only perfunctory and called for substantial independence while maintaining an amicable relationship with the U.S. He also stressed the importance of clearing the history issue with China and protecting the DPRK from being taken in by the PRC after the collapse of the DPRK's current regime. He also mentioned the Banco Delta Asia agreement can work as a key to solving DPRK's nuclear issue in the future.
  
  
• WON HEE-RYONG (GNP):Won Hee-ryong legislator, the leader of reform-minded members, from the GNP is a dark-horse contender who announced himself as a contender for the GNP party's primary elections in late June 2006. "Some say that I lack experience. Others say that I am running for president just to raise my profile for the next presidential election," he said. "But I stand here today with desperate feelings that I should change the Roh government, the political culture of the Republic of Korea and our Grand National Party in this election, not the next election."
  
  On 5 Jul, he stressed importance of managing amiable relationship with US. Whereas most other candidates focused on the importance of solving DPRK's nuclear and economic issues, Won Heeryong claimed hunger issues are of primary importance for the DPRK. He stated the DPRK's current system has already collapsed, and in the end the DPRK has no other choice but to reach out to the international community. However, those issues take an excessively long amount of time, so the DPRK's hunger issues must be first solved to alleviate their worries of becoming second-class citizens after unification.
  
  
• GO JIN-HWA (GNP): (DEFEATED IN PRIMARY)Go Jin-hwa first term legislator from the GNP is a dark-horse contender who announced himself as a contender for the GNP party's primary elections in late June 2006. Go Jin-hwa is one of few progressives in the GNP. He reannounced his running for the nomination in Feb 2007. He pledged to fight old political practices of confrontation and regionalism. He also called for a change in the party's primary rules to allow the general public to vote to choose the party's candidate for the December presidential election. The underdog has faced increasing attacks from the party's old-guard for departing from the GNP's conservative line and advocating left-wing policies on a range of issues including North Korea, Iraq and the economy. Speculation surfaced that he and other reformist GNP lawmakers including Sohn may join a new political group being developed by ruling lawmakers. Go, one of the few progressives in the GNP and a first-term lawmaker, said, "I am sure to clinch victory in the 2007 presidential race as the only democratic reformist in the GNP."
  
  On 5 Jul, he stressed importance of managing amiable relationship with US. Go Jinhwa mentioned the complete defeat of the Republican hard-line policy in the U.S. and claimed industrialism and other old ideologies must disappear. Regarding the policies on the DPRK, he criticized the GNP's unclear status on the issue and claimed the GNP must make a decision on whether to go for peace or not. He also stated that the Korean peninsula must be unified through peaceful policies and in order to do so, an agreed peace policy must be prepared.
  
  

• CHUN JUNG-BAE (URI/UNDP): (ELIMINATED IN UNDP PRIMARY) In Apr 2005 after President Roh's impeachment was overturned, Chun Jung-bae took over as the Uri Party floor leader. He resigned in June 2005 to become the Justice Minister. In July 2006, Chun resigned and called Uri Party floor leader Kim Han-gill and told him he wanted to return to being a lawmaker. Chun, who returned to the Uri Party floor after 13 sometimes turbulent months with the justice portfolio, said he will take some rest in August and then "do my utmost to revive the Uri Party." Chun was known to be interested in running in the party's presidential primaries, and his resignation was understood to be the first step along that road. The former human rights lawyer would be considered a dark horse for the Uri Party nomination.
  
  
  Chun Jung-bae, Justice Minister
  
  
• KIM GEUN-TAE (URI): (DROP OUT OF RACE IN JUN 2007) Kim Geun-tae, former Minister of Health and Welfare. From Oct. 1985-1988 Imprisoned for Anti-Government and 1990-1992 Imprisoned for Violation of National Security Law. His testimony that he was tortured in 1985 established him as a leading activist.
  
  
  • 1. Registered Residence: Seoul
    
  • 2. Age: 59
    
  • 3. Education: Kyunggi High School; Dept. of Economics, Seoul National University
    
  • 4. Personal Assets: 532 million won
    
  • 5. Military Service: Completed mandatory Army service
    
  • 6. Religion: No religion
    
  • 7. Family: Married with a son and a daughter
    
  • Statement: The presidential election is one year away, and now is not the time to ponder on the elections too much. Now is instead the time to think about how to give new hope to the public. I'm set to do my best to renovate the administration for the rest of its term. Then I'll make efforts to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula and open an age of prosperity. I'll first admit what we did wrong and shoulder the responsibility for correcting the wrongs, then wait for the public's judgment.
  He received the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award with his wife, In Chae Keun, in 1987 and was recognized as the World Conscientious Prisoner for Political Reasons by the Hamburg Freedom Foundation in 1988. His memoir "The Namyungdong" is one of the most popular readings among the public, which unveiled the torture in the process of the police investigation. Later, he served as the Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the "Chunminryun" (the National Democratic Alliance of Korea), the first nationwide civic organization to promote democracy in Korea. He was imprisoned again in 1990 for breach of the National Security Law. Congresspersons in the U.S House of Representatives wrote to the Korean government to file a protest against his imprisonment. Later on, the UN Commission on Human Rights urged the Korean government to reverse the decision on his imprisonment. In his human rights movement, his focus was on the freedom of thought and conscience, as well as political freedom. He was longing to see a free and democratic society.
  
  After the Roh government ended in1993, he joined the Democratic Party (later renamed the National Congress for New Politics or NCNP) as a Vice Chair and changed his career from human rights activist to politician. He was elected to the National Assembly in 1996, starting his first term as a lawmaker. (See Kim Geun-tae Bio.)
  
  Health and Welfare Minister Kim is also a third-term lawmaker and former floor leader of the Uri Party. Although he led the party through the general elections in tandem with Unification Minister Chung, the two have distinctively different styles. Ex-dissident Kim is well-known for his resoluteness and steadfast principles. Quiet and reserved, he is acknowledged for pushing policies and sticking by them.
  
  But in November last year, he faced criticism by openly opposing the government's plan to activate pension funds in investments and quickly retracted his views under pressure from Cheong Wa Dae. Kim focused on improving the welfare sector with a series of visits to public facilities. (Source: Asianews.net.)
  
  After resigning his office, he took on Chung Dong-young for the leadership of the Uri Party and lost. He returned to the National Assembly and sought to improve his standings but has not given up his hopes for the 2007 Presidency run. However, the fate of the Uri Party hinges on the 31 May elections. Chung's ascendency would nose-dive if the Uri Party disintegrates, but Kim will also disappear into oblivion as the leader of the "reformist" wing of the Uri Party.
  
  
  Kim Geun-tae, Minister of Health and Welfare
  
  Prior to the 31 May elections, Kim Tae-geun's future as a presidential hopeful was on the downhill skids. Since polls indicate that the ruling party can win only two of the 16 key seats in the upcoming elections, the Uri Party may be forced to attempt a merging with the Democratic Party (MDP). There was speculation that the Uri Party after facing a defeat might join the Democratic Party, but given the severe distrust the DP harbors, experts warn that even if an alliance was produced, much bickering is expected over who would obtain the upper hand in the presidential ballot. Kim Tae-geun's star seems to be fading quickly unless some miracle happens.
  
  After the defeat of the Uri Party in the 31 May elections, Kim Geun-Tae was touted as a replacement, but hardliners stated that the entire leadership needed to be replaced. Despite opposition, he was selected to the Chairmanship position. Some party members who doubted whether the former student activist representing the left wing of the Uri Party would appeal to Koreans who have seemed to reject many of the party's liberal-oriented reform efforts by their voting patterns in the 31 May elections. In the end, most analysts concluded, there was no real alternative. Mr. Kim placed second to Chung Dong-young in party leadership elections in February. He became the chairman of the Uri Party. Regardless, the Uri defeat has tarnished his star.
  
  In Aug 2006 he attempted to woo business support by proposing reforms that benefitted business. He then proposed to extend pardons to convicted business leaders, but was rebuffed by Cheong Wa Dae. Relations with President Roh became estranged. After the defeat of the Uri Party again in by-elections in Sep 2006, his star grew more tarnished as the Uri Party suffered from internal problems between those who championed reform of the Uri Party and those who remained loyal to Roh Moo-hyun refusing to even consider an Uri party reform.
  
  In Dec 2006, he along with Chung Dong-young announced that they were breaking away from the Uri Party and forming a new party called the "People's Party." Support for the Uri Party's most popular politicians, chairman Kim Geun-tae and former chairman Chung Dong-youn, was a poor 1 percent and 1.6 percent in a New Year Gallup poll.
  
  In Jun 2007, Kim Geun-tae declared that he would not compete in the December presidential race, saying he will leave the embattled party to devote himself to uniting all liberal forces.
  
  
• LEE HAE-CHAN: (SCANDAL: RESIGNED AS PRIME MINISTER MAR 2006 -- APPOINTED AS SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR IN OCT 2006 -- REENTER RACE IN MAY 2007) (THIRD PLACE IN UNDP PRIMARY -- DEFEATED IN UNDP PRIMARY PROCESS IN OCT 2007) Lee Hae-chan was considered a potential Presidential candidate in 2007 until the 1 Mar 2006 golfing scandal that toppled him from grace -- leading to his resignation. It was not his golfing that led to his downfall, but the golf partners he chose to associate with on that date. However, in Korean politics under the Roh administration, a person who has fallen from grace -- and even convicted for a felony and served prison time -- can rise to prominence in the cabinet. He may return to positions of leadership after a "cooling off" period.
  
  He is a member of the liberal Uri Party, and was elected five times for the National Assembly. He also served as the minister of education under former president Kim Dae-jung from 1998 to 1999, presiding over controversial education reforms including revamping the college entrance process and lowering the retirement age of teachers. The first reform in particular, which at the time was summed up in the slogan that being good at one thing was enough to get into college, was criticised for allegedly lowering dramatically the scholastic competence of the so-called "Lee Hai-chan generation" of then-high school students. Most admit that he is a much better Prime Minister than an Education Minister.
  
  Lee was concurrently Prime Minister and in his third-term in parliament and has served briefly as education minister. His past activities as a staunch democrat is reflected in his openness in dealing with state problems. After succeeding Goh Kun as prime minister in June last year, he created an uproar in the National Assembly by provoking anger among members of the GNP by calling it "a party of bribes" during an overseas trip in September. Lee refused to apologize for a couple of weeks, causing suspension of the Assembly because of a GNP boycott. The incident left a scar on parliament but raised Lee's political visibility as a potential presidential hopeful. Lee is likely to continue serving as President Roh's right hand man for the time being. (Source: Asianews.net.)
  
  Lee's selection as Prime Minister was first thought to be so he would act as a lightning rod for Roh Moo-hyun, but it has turned out to be the opposite. Lee has become the real power behind the presidency in domestic policy making.
  
  During his younger years Lee Hae-chan, was an activist as is listed as being "Imprisoned for Involvement in Mincheong Hakryeon Case" in 1974-1975. (Source: Korea Net.) He stated that his wife, the daughter of the top taxi company owner in Pusan, was forced to renounce her family in order to marry him. The daughter inherited a great deal of wealth and land from her father and now owns a 291 taxi company in Pusan.
  
  
  Lee Hae-chan
  
  

  In March 2006, he created a stir during the national railway strike by playing golf in Busan on 1 Mar, when railway workers started a general strike and triggered transport turmoil nationwide. Lee offered a public apology on 5 Mar for playing golf "at an inappropriate time." What made it worse was that he was playing golf with a group of businessmen . Some of those who played with him were convicted of bribery or stock market manipulation. This act of hobnobbing with people convicted of corruption -- but having finances to support political campaigns -- is of major consequence as Roh has made an issue of stamping out corruption -- and in fact, has been the only area that he has received high marks in by the Korean polls.
  
  Of course, the opposition parties demanded his resignation. Instead, Lee Hae-chan tried to focus attention on his playing golf -- not with the golf partners which was the center of the hubbub. It failed and the newspapers -- especially the conservative ones -- zeroed in on the relationship Lee had with his golf partners. Lee issued an apology to the public on 5 Mar, but it did no good. In April 2005, Lee Hae-chan came under fire when he played golf on Arbor Day, while a big fire was spreading throughout Gangwon Province. Only three months later in July 2005, Lee played golf on Jeju Island while part of the region suffered torrential rainfall. (SITE NOTE: Actually we see nothing wrong with the playing of golf -- national holiday or not -- as it is an informal form of business meeting -- but we do question his choice of partners and therefore the topic of what "informal business" was discussed becomes of interest.)
  
  Next the staff of Cheong Wa Dae gave him a clean bill of health to sweep it under the carpet. Presidential Chief Secretary Lee Byung-wan told reporters Lee's golfing partners were not trying to lobby him over the investigation, despite appearances to the contrary. He added the president "puts the emphasis on truth" rather than appearances" -- a remark that suggested that Lee would not have to resign. "It is not compulsory for the prime minister to attend the ceremony for the March 1, 1919 Independence Movement, and he believed the rail strike would not present a problem because he had taken the necessary measures," Lee said. "The prime minister felt exhausted from excessive work, and he often plays golf at weekends for health reasons. There was no lobbying directed at him" on the golf course. This did NOT stop the press who now smelled blood. Lee made another apology at a cabinet meeting and explained that he attended the golf round on the way to pay a visit to his sick mother-in-law in Pusan, as it was customary for the premier to skip the Independence Movement Day ceremony, which is attended by the president. This didn't fly with the public either. The Cheong Wa Dae started an OFFICIAL inquiry but the everyone knew what the results would be before it started.
  
  All the newspapers now were running articles over the golfing partners. The first shady partner was reportedly Choi Do-sul, former presidential secretary for general affairs who was imprisoned in 2004 on charges of receiving illegal funds ahead of the 2002 presidential election. He was the man who paid for Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan's golf outing on 1 Mar, according to a Dong-A Ilbo investigative report. "As far as I know, the businessman paid for the entire outing," said a source involved in the event. "But I don't know if he paid by check or cash."
  
  Another of Lee's golf partners that day were "Y" who was jailed years ago on charges of stock price manipulation. Later it was reported that "Y" was Ryu Won-ki (Yoo Won-gi), the head of Yongnam Flour Mills. He came into the spotlight recently because on the day after the golf meeting (2 March), the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) fined Ryu 3.516 billion won ($3.58 million) for violations of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act. Ryu was involved in attempts to fix flour prices last year in cooperation with seven other companies. The fact that the FTC was levying its massive fine on him for price-fixing on the day he was playing of golf made the meeting suspect. Some newspapers questioned whether Ryu attempted to lobby Lee to reduce his fine. The anti-trust FTC watchdog is controlled by the prime minister's office. This led to suspicions that the businessman may have tried unsuccessfully to lobby the prime minister during the game of golf to avoid further penalty.
  
  However, the FTC said the decision to impose the fine on the company was made on Feb. 28 and it announced that decision on March 2. Therefore, it rejected any possibility that a hypothetical lobbying effort would have been successful. However, the newspapers pointed out that the businessman was NOT included on the list of people the FTC referred to the prosecution for further action in the price-fixing case.
  
  

  On 14 Mar it was reported that on 25 Nov 2005, Youngnam Flour Mills sold 9.37 percent (1.95 million) of its shares in a lump transaction. Youngnam Chairman Ryu Won-gi (Yoo Won-gi), who played golf with Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan on March 1, owns the company. Youngnam Flour Mills earned a profit of 6.7 billion won on November 25 when it sold 1.95 million shares through over-the-counter transactions.
  
  On 14 Mar it was reported that seven corporate investors bought Youngnam Flour Mills shares through over-the-counter transactions in November 2005 and resold them within either a week or month, triggering a decline in the company's share price. The companies made huge profits, but individual investors who invested in Youngnam Flour Mills without knowing this situation appear to have suffered large losses. All seven corporate investors who bought the nearly 9.37 percent of the outstanding shares didn't become main shareholders. This means that most of them sold their shares before December 27. (Source: Donga Ilbo.) (SITE NOTE: In Mar 2006, it appeared in the papers that Yoo Won-gi's ex-wife's appeal to a life sentence for the murder of a woman who her son-in-law was having an affair with. She supposedly hired her nephews to kidnap and kill the woman -- though she claims she only ordered them to "hold her." After she was sentenced to life, Yoo divorced her.) Another element that made the Ryu Won-ki case interesting was the other golf partners. Suspicion increased that there might have been an attempt to conceal this meeting with Ryu because other members of the group who played golf that day gave different statements. Soon the newspapers zeroed in on Lee Gi-woo, vice minister of Education and Human Resources Development, played golf in a different group and said, "I joined the game instead of 'Y' because I was informed that 'Y' cancelled." (Source: Donga Ilbo.) Lee Gi-woo, is a lifelong education official and a close associate of the prime minister Lee Hae-chan, who served as education minister in 1998-99. (Source: Yonhap News.)
  
  A local newspaper noted that Lee Gi-woo once served as head of the Korea Teachers' Credit Union (KTCU), which has bought up to eight percent of the total shares of the flour company since last May. It is unusual for a large institutional investor such as the KTCU to buy the shares of a relatively small and unstable flour company. Suddenly the newspapers had a link and the feeding frenzy started. The Korea Teachers' Credit Union purchased 8 percent of the Yongnam Flour Mill's shares last year, and that transaction was suspicious. The credit union said it was an innocent investment and that it had purchased shares of 20 small firms under its own investment principles; the milling company was one of them. However, the flour mill was under investigation at the time of price-fixing and the Credit Union investment guidelines state that investment in such companies was prohibitted.
  
  Mr. Lee, a close friend of the prime minister, was the head of the Korea Teachers' Credit Union, which bought 8 percent of the shares of Mr. Ryu's company, Youngnam Flour Mills, shortly after he stepped down from that position. That connection turned the spotlight on him, and the Blue House made no effort to deflect it. "As soon as we confirm Mr. Lee's inappropriate behavior as a senior civil servant, we will receive his resignation," a Blue House source said. (Source: Joonga Ilbo.) In addition, there were added charges that the KTCU may have used insider information to make the purchases. (Source: Donga Ilbo.) The hope was the sacrifice would stop the feeding frenzy -- and take the heat off Prime Minister Lee. It did not work. (NOTE: On 15 Mar Vice Education Minister Lee Gi-woo resigned on the same day as Prime Minister Lee.)
  
  Another golfing partner was Jeong Sun-taek, the former presidential secretary of cultural affairs and the current principal of the Korean-German Culture Girls' High School, but whether he was involved in the growing scandal was unknown.
  
  At the time, Roh was in Africa and no decision would be made on Lee until he returned. The main opposition Grand National Party said it would seek a no-confidence motion on Lee if President Roh doesn't sack him. (Source: Chosun Ilbohttp://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200603/200603070032.html.)
  
  On 13 Mar it was reported that Uri party had decided to press for Mr. Lee's dismissal. The decision was based on its assessment of the impact the incident could have on the May 31 local elections. It surveyed its members over the weekend before deciding on its recommendation, and asked its legislators to take more soundings in their districts to buttress their case for Mr. Lee's dismissal.
  
  Lee again apologized at a cabinet meeting on 13 Mar, "I apologize to the public for my inconsiderate behavior. I realize that I have to be more prudent and considerate." In the meantime, on March 13, the Seoul Supreme Prosecutors' Office launched an investigation into the "March 1 golf case" in which the Grand National Party filed a complaint against the prime minister and Deputy Minister of Education and Human Resources Lee Ki-woo on charges of bribery. Roh returned from his Africa trip on 14 Mar but was angered by the Uri Party turning on his administration. Lee offered his resignation upon Roh's return, but Roh "made no response" -- meaning he neither accepted nor refused it. However, on 15 Mar it was announced that Roh had accepted the resignation of Lee after consulting with Uri Party Chairman Chung Dong-young.
  
  In addition, on 15 Mar Vice Education Minister Lee Gi-woo said he offered to resign. Lee had been in public office since 1967 when he started out as a government official on the ninth level. He has held the position of chief of staff in the office of the prime minister and is known as a mythical figure in the public service society for his final academic achievement standing as a high school graduate. Lee was appointed the position of vice education minister on February 1, but as explanations regarding the March 1 golf scandal turned out to be false, he resigned in just 43 days.
  
  On 27 Oct 2006, President Roh appointed Lee Hae-chan as one of four special presidential advisers on policy affairs after his Defense Minister, Unification Minister and National Intelligence Service ministers resigned in short order. With the appointment of his cronies, Roh came under much criticism for his nepotism.
  
  The Joongang Ilbo reported on 6 Mar that sources are already saying Lee Hae-chan's four-day trip to the DPRK starting on 7 Mar may be a prelude to an inter-Korean summit meeting, even though the Blue House denies it. Mr. Lee, a special adviser to the president for political affairs, will meet with Kim Yong-nam, the president of the Supreme People's Assembly and the nominal head of the DPRK, said Uri Party spokesman Choi Jae-seong. However, Chong Wa Dae stated that he was going as a representative of the Uri Party and not as a representative of Roh Moo-hyun. Soon after Lee Hae-chan returned, $500 million was sent in cash to the North. It was obvious that he was going to attempt to set up a Inter-Korean Summit to allow Roh to repeat Kim Dae-jung's come from behind success in 2002. Like Kim Dae-jung, Roh was a lame duck President with dismal approval ratings and destined to be regarded as one of the most ineffectual Korean Presidents in history.
  
  On 23 May, Lee Hae-chan reportedly decided to participate in a proposed joint primary of liberal parties. Lawmakers of the pro-government Uri Party said that Lee, a loyalist to President Roh Moo-hyun, revealed his intention to join the primary, pointing out the limitations of other presidential hopefuls such as Chung Dong-young and Sohn Hak-gyu.
  
  The former prime minister was reportedly considering meeting with the co-leader of the People First Party Sim Dae-pyung and Uri Party lawmakers based in Chungcheong Province. In a meeting with lawmakers loyal to the president, Lee reportedly said that he will try his best to keep reform-minded forces alive by doing his part in the presidential election. Lee planned to move his campaign base to Yeoido and to begin actively campaigning.
  
  In the last round of the UNDP primary process, Chung Dong-young came out on top. The UNDP’s turnout in the last round of voting (reported to be only about 14%) will not help, especially if Chung cannot end up with over 50% of the final tally. His opponents Sohn and Lee have not conceded.
  
  
• CHUNG UN-CHAN (URI): (DROPPED OUT OF RACE ON 30 APR 2007) Chung Un-chan, a former Seoul National University president with an image of a moderate reformist economic specialist is rumored to be favored by Roh Moo-hyun.. Mr. Chung had long denied speculation that he had political ambitions, but in late 2006 seemed to have begun dropping coy hints that he could be convinced. In Feb 2007 former president of Seoul National University Chung Un-chan who received a 0.9 percent approval rating.
  
  In a statement on 30 Apr 2007, the Princeton-educated economist said he realized that he lacked in ability and other requirements needed to pursue the job. He had been floated as a potential presidential candidate to represent liberal groups. ``I am standing here to tell the people that I will not join the presidential race,’’ he said in a hastily arranged press conference. ``I don’t have the ability to build and lead a political party in real politics, while keeping principles that I’ve so far valued so preciously.’’
  
  
• HAN MYEONG-SOOK (URI/UNDP): (FIFTH PLACE IN UNDP FIRST PRIMARY: WITHDRAWS IN SEPT) Though not formally announced as of Feb 2007, former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook was being bandied about as a potential presidential candidate from the Uri Party. Her approval rating stood at 1.1 percent in Feb 2007. In May 2007, she threw her hat in the ring for the Uri Party nomination.
  
  Han Myeong-sook, the female presidential contender of the pro-government United New Democratic Party (UNDP), withdrew from its primary race on 14 Sep 2007 and declared her support for former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan.
  
  
• KANG KEUM-SIL (URI/UNDP): (ELIMINATED IN UNDP PRIMARY) Though not formally announced as of Feb 2007, former justice minister Kang Keum-sil was still low on the list with 1.6 percent.
  
  
• RHYU SI-MUN (URI/UNDP): (FOURTH PLACE IN UNDP FIRST PRIMARY: DROP OUT OF RACE IN SEP 2007) Though not formally announced as of Feb 2007, Rhyu Si-min, minister of health and welfare, was being bandied about as a potential presidential candidate from the Uri Party. Rhyu is an unlikely candidate because of the massive opposition amongst his own party that surfaced on his nomination hearings. Despite the opposition, President Roh appointed him to his office. Rhyu, a former student activist, is a two-time legislator who played a key role in helping President Roh win the 2002 presidential election with a platform of reforming politics. He served as the Uri Party's chief policy coordinator on health and welfare affairs and a member of the party's high-level Central Committee before taking up the cabinet post in February 2006. In Feb 2007, he refused to give up his Uri Party membership AND his cabinet post despite President Roh giving up his Uri Party membership. In May 2007, he resigned from the Roh cabinet and called for the party dissolution.

SOHN HAK-KYU (INDEPENDENT/UNDP): (FIRST PLACE IN UNDP FIRST PRIMARY, BUT SECOND IN SECOND PRIMARY -- DEFEATED IN UNDP PRIMARY PROCESS IN OCT 2007) Sohn Hak-kyu, the Gyeonggi province governor from 2002 to 2006. of the GNP is listed as being "Imprisoned for Involvement in Mincheong Hakryeon Case," the student democracy incident. Mr. Sohn is a rather unlikely member of the conservative party; he was a noted opponent of Park Chung Hee as a student activist in the 1960s. He ran against form by joining the party in the 1990s and winning an Assembly seat. He champions party reform to rid the Grand Nationals of their reactionary image. He recently went on a 100-day tour of the country to glad-hand Citizen Kim, dig coal and catch squid; his approval ratings are rising, but he is still the laggard among the GNP contenders. On 19 Mar Sohn left the GNP to run for the presidency under a new reform party -- that never got off the ground. Instead, in Jun 2007 there was a merger of the deserters from the Uri Party and the Democratic Party. Sohn led all the liberals in polls, though still far behind the GNP candidates.

• 1. Registered Residence: Seoul
  
• 2. Age: 59
  
• 3. Education: Kyunggi High School; Dept. of Politics, Seoul National University; Oxford University Ph. D.
  
• 4. Personal Assets: 294 million won
  
• 5. Military Service: Completed mandatory Army service
  
• 6. Religion: Protestant
  
• 7. Family: Married with two daughters
  
• Statement: What Korea needs for the 21st century is the spirit of unity and hope for the future. In my youth, I used my spirit to democratize this country and devoted myself to the have-nots. Later, I went abroad to see the bigger world, and as Gyeonggi province governor, I did my best to attract foreign direct investment and create more jobs to give hope for the future. I also built a foundation for peaceful unification.

Sohn is often compared to Seoul Mayor Lee as they belong to the same party. A former professor at Inha and Sogang Univeristy, Sohn has also served three times as a lawmaker. He is currently stepping up his contacts with key party officials and the media and is implementing various milestone projects in Gyeonggi Province such as the recent "Hallyuwood" plan to create a cultural town in Ilsan. He also proposed the formation of an English village in Paju city to combat what he called the "Father Goose" phenomenal where students leave Korea and never return. (Source: Asianews.net.)


Sohn Hak-kyu, Governor of Gyeonggi Province

The approval ratings of former Gyeonggi Province governor Sohn Hak-kyu, who is receiving proposals from the ruling party in Feb 2007, increased from 3.3 percent to 5 percent

In Mar 2007, former Gyeonggi Province governor Sohn Hak-kyu congratulated a moderate reform party named Progress Korea on its establishment. There was speculation that Sohn, the Grand National party's third-placed contender, would boycott the GNP primaries and quit the party to strike out on his own. Made up of some 100 former student activists, the new Progress Korea party is co-chaired by Kim Yoon, the head of a forum on the Korean economy and globalization, Choi Pae-kun, a professor at Kyungpook National University and Kim Yoo-shik, the owner of online community Digital Inside. An official with the group said it will establish a nationwide organization by September and select a presidential candidate as a formal political party. He expressed hope that Sohn will decide to leave the GNP. Sohn attended the ceremony despite opposition from his aides and wrote his own speech for it.

On 19 Mar, Sohn bolted from the GNP. He stated, "To open the new path, I decided to give up all possibilities and vested interests that I have held," Sohn said in a statement. "I decided to leave the GNP to break up the fetters of obsolete conservatism and incapable leftists and create a new road for the new Republic of Korea."

In May 2007, because his chances of securing the GNP nomination seemed remote, he continued to court liberal parties nomination -- and even hinted at running as an independent.

In Jun 2007, seven splinter groups of the left-leaning Uri Party expressed support for Sohn. This is the first time that incumbent legislators officially endorsed Sohn. "We announce our endorsement to Sohn Hak-kyu. We intend to win the upcoming 17th presidential election with Sohn Hak-kyu," they said. Sohn still had not made up his mind, but it appeared that he would make his announcement before July 2007 to merge with the liberal elements that had deserted the Uri Party. Former pro-government Uri Party Chairman Kim Geun-tae said Sohn would participate in a meeting for potential presidential candidates from liberal groups, including the pro-government Uri Party. The 60-year-old Sohn had kept his distance from any political parties since he quit the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) on March 19. He backed former president Kim Dae-jung's sunshine policy of engagement. Although he became the Gyonggi governor on the conservative GNP ticket, he had been classified as a liberal political figure. ``I will keep heading toward a grand coalition and will not mind playing any role in it,'' Sohn was quoted as saying during a meeting with Kim. ``But the coalition should not be a rehash of the governing party.'' It is being speculated that the nomination race of the anti-GNP groups will be a three-way duel among Sohn, former Uri Party Chairman Chung Dong-young and former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan.

In Jul, Sohn agreed to a single candidate amongst the six liberal elements from the newly reformed Democratic Party with the defectors from the Uri Party. Sohn placed first in the first primary eliminations, but placed second in the second primary. Infuriated, he left the stage of the rally and sequestered himself for two days following the primary results in which Chung came in first. He claimed that old-style party politics and regionalism were factors in his second-place showing. Though some feared he would drop out, he announced that he would continue his running for the presidency, but he demanded the UNDP clean up its house on old-style politics (driving people to the polls, etc.).

The United New Democratic Party (UNDP)’s primary race became increasingly chaotic as candidates called for the frontrunner’s resignation amid disputes over illegal campaigns. Former Gyeonggi Province Governor Sohn Hak-gyu and former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan urged former Uri Party Chairman Chung Dong-young to stop his campaign for the presidency, saying that police investigation confirmed a member of Chung’s camp from the former Uri Party directed a registration of an electoral college by surreptitiously using President Roh Moo-hyun’s name.

After he lost the primary, Sohn Hak-kyu agreed on 21 Oct to support Chung Dong-young in the presidential race. Chung offered Sohn the post of chairman of his campaign, which Sohn immediately accepted. Chung was to offer Lee Hae-chan a co-chairman position along with Sohn. The meeting happened four days after the bitter United New Democratic Party primary ended, making Chung the official candidate. Sohn came in second and Lee Hae-chan finished in third.

INDEPENDENT

• GOH KUN (UNNAMED PARTY): (DROP OUT OF RACE IN JAN 2007) Longtime politician Goh Kun was former Prime Minister under Roh. His able management of the nation during the impeachment of Roh Moo-hyun garnered him the respect of all parties. After Roh returned to office, he resigned. According to the Flying Yangban blog, "a big part of Goh's popularity is that many Koreans see him as a kind of Cincinnatus; someone who wants to serve Korea and who is without political ambition for himself. Were he to run for the presidency, he would be at least partially undercutting the very thing that makes him popular with the Korean people in the first place." Currently he is waiting to be nominated by popular demand -- instead of announcing his run for the Presidency.
  
  
  • 1. Registered Residence: Okgu, North Jeolla
    
  • 2. Age: 68
    
  • 3. Education: Kyunggi High School; Dept. of Politics, Seoul National University
    
  • 4. Personal Assets: 3.56 billion won
    
  • 5. Military Service: Exempted
    
  • 6. Religion: Protestant
    
  • 7. Family: Married with three sons
    
  • Statement: The public now wants the following five qualities: ability to run the administration, ability to unify differences, stability, morality and reform-mindedness. This administration is reform-minded in its own way, but it is pursuing reforms in the direction of one certain ideology. That will lead to fatigue with reform efforts. We need to gather practical political forces that exclude the extreme right and left, and then we must make pragmatic reforms. This is the only way to advance into a new age.
  In Jan 2005, supporters of Goh Kun prepared to form a new political party in March. "After a launching ceremony on Jan. 20, we will form a preparatory committee and a new party will be up and running around March," said Lee Yong-hwi who leads the Great Korea Society, a private club of Goh supporters. The group consists of around 1,000 opinion leaders from various areas and announced their intention to support the former prime minister to become the next president, though the move by the Great Korea Society was not directed by Goh himself. "We're supporters of former Prime Minister Goh and of course would like to have him onboard once the party is formed. But the plan to launch a political party is our own idea, not Goh's," he said.
  
  Goh's close aides reportedly said the envisioned party is not being pushed by Goh nor it is linked to him directly. As of January 2006, Goh was not a member of any party, and had yet to declare his presidential bid. "We will be playing a role of a think tank once former Prime Minister Goh makes his presidential ambitions official," Lee said. The group is relatively young, with 60 percent of the sponsors in their 40s and 50s. Future and the Economy will hold an establishment meeting and symposium on February 13. The group already has an office in Seoul. Hence, the predictions that this group would ultimately go down as a think tank for Goh. As his supporters have organized themselves in this way, political analysts said that is likely for Goh to publicly pursue his political goal. (Source: Korea Herald.)
  
  Goh began his bureaucratic career after passing the state civil service examination in 1961. Goh retired last year after serving as prime minister from Feb. 2002 to June last year. His past service as Seoul City mayor twice (1988-1990, 1998-2002) earned him positive reviews as an efficient administrator. During his tenure, Goh initiated and completed construction of Seoul subway lines 5, 6, 7 and 8.
  
  He also calmly managed the state as acting president during the three months when Roh's presidency was in hiatus between his impeachment in March and the Constitutional Court ruling overturning it. Despite repeated denials by Goh, there have been persistent reports over the possibility of him running for the presidency. Goh's administrative style is widely perceived as being stable and reliable, which is viewed as the main reason for his high popularity ratings months after his retirement. Those who are critics refer to him as an "opportunist." (Source: Asianews.net.)
  
  Goh is known as the "master administrator" in South Korea. He served as the 30th Prime Minister (1997-1998), twice as the Mayor of Seoul, (1998-2002, 1988-1990), Minister of Home Affairs (1987), Member of the National Assembly (1985-1988), Minister of Agriculture and Marine Affairs (1981-1982), Minister of Transportation (1980-1981), and Chief Secretary of Political Affairs to the President (1979-1980). He holds the record as the youngest Governor in South Korea. At the age of 37, he became the Governor of Jeonnam Province in 1975. He was appointed by the President to lead a national agricultural modernization program called the New Village Movement, which transformed South Korea's agricultural sector into one of the most modernized and productive in Asia.
  
  
  Former Prime Minister Goh Kun
  
  
  
  Ranked as the front runner as a presidential hopeful in Jan 2006, he slipped to number two and has remained a solid second place choice with Lee Myung-bak (1) and Park Geun-hye (3). The Uri Party Chairman Chung Dong-young, a presidential hopeful himself, attempted to entice him to run for the local office of his choice for the 31 May 2006 elections, but he turned him down. The MDP then tried to get him to join their party as did the People First Party -- the splinter party of the now defunct LDP, but again he remained uncommitted to a party. In MBC's poll on April 2, Goh held 23.8 percent with Park (2) at 20.3 percent and Lee (3) at 19.5 percent. In an opinion poll by CBS in mid-May, Park placed first with 27.2 percent, followed by Mayor Lee with 21.9 percent and Goh with 17.7 percent.
  
  Prior to the 31 May local elections, both the Uri Party and Democratic Party attempted to attract him into their ranks. He declined and remained non-committal. The 31 May local elections ended in a sweep by the GNP -- mainly as a condemnation of the Roh administration's policies. After the resignation of the Uri party chairman Chung Dong-young and the ruling party in disarray, Goh stated that a President and his party should be one. This was interpreted to mean that Goh might be considering forming a party of his own. However, ``I'll begin to make efforts to unite all reform-oriented political forces with neutral ideological backgrounds by forming a group, which will be more like a civic group than a political party,'' Goh was quoted as saying by his spokesman Kim Duck-bong. Goh did not rule out the possibility the new group could become a political party after winning more public support and confidence. Goh Kun said on 2 June that he and his supporters will form an ``alliance of forces pursuing pragmatic reforms'' in July -- distancing himself from the Uri Party and Democrat Party which refer to themselves as "reformists."
  
  On 28 Aug Goh Kun launched a civic organization to "reform broken politics," in a move widely seen to prop up his bid for the presidency. Goh, a leading presidential hopeful with no party affiliation, defines his group as a "pure" civic group in an apparent attempt to distance itself from the nation's "hopeless" politics.
  
  "The current politics do not give any hope to people. People should come forth and rectify the situation," Goh said in a launching ceremony for the Hope Solidarity. The group consists of 106 opinion leaders from various fields. Political observers say Goh will focus on civic activities for the time being, trying to establish his image ahead of the 2007 presidential election.
  
  Goh also suggested that he may form a new political association or align with an existing party to run for next year's presidential race. "Hope Solidarity has nothing to do with my political path. If I start a political path, I will do so in real politics which is totally different from Hope Solidarity," he told reporters yesterday. He also said he is seeking an "alliance with center pragmatic reformists. I unofficially keep in touch with politicians who share thoughts." Goh, a popular presidential aspirant, has been flooded with alliance offers from the ruling and opposition parties. He did not rule out the possibility of forming an alliance with an incumbent party.
  
  On 1 Nov 2006, Goh Kun said that he intended to form a new political party as a vehicle for his candidacy. Goh broke a long silence about his plans. The former prime minister and Seoul mayor said he would start to build his party in Dec 2006, after the current National Assembly session closes. He said firmly that he was "not interested" in joining forces with President Roh Moo-hyun's Uri Party or with the Democratic Party, the remnant of a party from which dissidents bolted to form Uri in 2003. Mr. Goh's standing among the Korean public has led to a highly publicized courtship by existing parties, especially by Uri, whose leaders have appealed to him to compete in their planned "open primary" to select a presidential candidate. Those primaries would not be limited to Uri members. Mr. Goh said he liked the concept, but it was not for him. His new party, he said, would be an alternative to Uri, and would be "middle-of-the-road pragmatist." He said it would be open to all but the political fringes on the left and right.
  
  Former prime minister Goh Kun on 16 Jan announced he wa dropping out of the presidential race. "After painful thought, I have decided not to run for the 17th presidential election," Goh said in a statement. Since the second half of 2005, the moderate had been considered a strong hopeful for the ruling camp, at one stage becoming the popular favorite with some 30 percent support in various polls. But in a poll early this year, that had dropped to about 10 percent, third behind ex-Seoul mayor Lee Myung-bak and former Grand National Party chairwoman Park Geun-hye. His decision leaves the selection process for left-of-center candidates wide open. It remains to be seen where his support base in the Jeolla provinces will turn.
  
  "From today, I will engage in no political activities related to the presidential election, but remain an ordinary citizen," Goh said in the statement. "I experienced the limit of real politics in the tall hurdles existing within political parties. I also humbly accept public opinion that my performance does not come up to expectations." He warned against "repeating the mistake of putting up third candidates or establishing makeshift political parties that exist only for elections." Goh, who had hoped to set up a new force uniting moderates regardless of party affiliations, apparently made the decision because of his plummeting popularity ratings. (Source: Chosun Ilbo.)
  
  

DEMOCRATIC PARTY (FORMERLY UNITED LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY)

• CHOUGH SOON-HYUNG (DROPPED OUT OF PRIMARY IN OCT 2007 CLAIMING FRAUD) Rep. Chough Soon-hyung, who dropped out of the primary race on Sept. 30, filed an injunction with authorities to suspend the race, claiming Rhee conducted illegal campaigning.
  
  

DEMOCRATIC LABOR PARTY

• ROH HOE-CHAN (DLP) (DROPPED OUT AFTER PRIMARY) -- In Apr 2007, announced his running in the preliminary registration. He earned 24.5 percent of the total eligible votes in primary and bowed out. (NOTE: Election laws require that candidates deposit W500 million (US$1=W926) at the final registration, but the preliminary registration requires no such deposit. Anyone who is over 40, has been living in Korea for more than five years and is eligible for election can sign up for the preliminary registration.)
• SIM SANG-JEONG (DLP) (DEFEATED IN DLP RUNOFF) -- In Apr 2007, he announced his running in the preliminary registration. In runoff in Sep 2007 after primary. He earned 26.1 percent of the total eligible votes.

---

POLITICAL PARTIES

Party Poll (Korea Times) (30 Dec 2005)

• URI PARTY

  The Uri party has been struggling with its low approval ratings, which have remained slightly over 10 percent. In the latest survey of 1,010 adults by The Korea Times, 46.3 percent of the respondents answered they would support candidates of the Grand National Party (GNP), with only 20.9 percent expressing their support for ruling party candidates in the local elections. But whoever wins the Uri Party nomination for President will have to face adverse circumstances against the ruling camp in the local elections on 31 May 2006 and tide over setbacks after possible defeats in the elections. If the ruling party fails to win the local elections, especially in the Cholla provinces, more party members will call for a merger between the ruling party and the minor opposition Democratic Party (DP), party sources said. (Source: Korea Times.)
  
  
  "I said I'm leaving! Giving up my power! All of it!" President Roh tells an indifferent people. (26 Aug 2005) (Chosun Ilbo) (SITE NOTE: This is a recurring feature with Roh. In 2003, during illegal political funding scandals between the MDP and GNP, Roh stated that if the amount found was only 1/10 of what the GNP had received he would resign. It was -- and he didn't. However, Lee Sang-soo received W3.2 billion (US$3.2 million) in illicit funds and sentenced to a one-year prison term by the Supreme Court in November 2004. Roh pardoned him -- and now he is the Minister of Labor. Only in Korea can one's crony's as a convicted felon get to be rewarded with a cabinet post.)
  
  In Jul 2005, Roh started making conciliatory remarks to the GNP in order to form a coalition form of government when it became apparent that the Uri Party was losing its hold on political power. The defeat in Sept 2005 was a major setback for the Uri Party as they did not win a single seat back in the byelections -- losing all four. After this major embarassment, the Uri Party chairman stepped down and Roh once again attempted to persuade the GNP -- but by Oct the GNP made it very clear that they were not interested.
  
  The tactic the Uri Party undertook was to form a coalition with the DLP and DP to railroad measures through the National Assembly. This resulted in the walkout of the GNP in Dec 2005 when the passed the Private School Law. In addition, the contentious Labor Reform Package and Police Promotion Bill were also passed.
  
  On 10 Feb the Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that sentenced Lawmaker Shin Gye-ryun of the ruling Uri Party to eight months in prison, two years probation, and a 55 million won fines on charges of accepting illegal funds from Good Money, a loan service company. Shin also lost his lawmaker post according to the election law that says a legislator sentenced to more than confinement on charges other than violations of the election law has to step down. In addition, he will lose the right to run for office for two years.
  
  Without Shin, the Uri Party now holds 143 seats in the Assembly. The main opposition Grand National party has 126 seats; 11 are held by the Democratic Party, nine by the Democratic Labor Party, five by the People First Party, one by the Liberal Democratic Union, and two seats are independently held. (Source: Donga Ilbo.)
  
  However, the Uri Party was becoming anxious over the May elections. Ministers from the Roh cabinet were flagged to run for Mayor and Governor offices as the May election was considered a mid-term report card for Roh. In doing so, the Uri party started to bend the rules. In the case of Maritime and Fisheries Minister Oh Keo-don who will be running for Mayor of Pusan, he violated the election rules by (1) starting the electioneering before May 18 and (2) engaging in electioneering while still a member of government. The same holds true for Environment Minister Lee Jae-yong, who is running for Daegu Mayor, participated in an Uri members' gathering in the city Feb. 19. Standing side by side with Uri leaders, including Chairman Chung Dong-young, Lee shouted, "Let's change the corrupt local power in Daegu." In both cases, the NEC only issued warnings. However, the point is that the Uri Party is willing to take chances because the party popularity with the voters remained low. (Source: Korea Herald Editorial.) Former Ministry of Justice Kang Kum-sil was being considered as a candidate for the Seoul Mayor slot, but she remained uncommitted as of Mar 2006.
  
  Four ministers were to step down to run for the local elections on 31 May 2006. According to personnel decisions made on March 2, Oh Young-kyo, minister of Government Administration and Home Affairs, Chin Dae-je, minister of Information and Communication, and Oh Keo-don, minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, are all resigning and running as governing Uri Party candidates for the office of South Chungcheong provincial governor, Gyeonggi provincial governor, and Busan mayor, respectively. Another man on the Uri Party's candidate list of former ministers is Lee Jae-yong. He was chosen to compete for the office of Daegu mayor at an early stage of the election process. But his successor has yet to be selected. (Chung Dong-chae, who has served as minister of culture and tourism since 2004, will also quit his post but not to run for office.) In its March 2 cabinet shakeup, the administration announced that several ministers would be replaced. But instead of immediate assumptions of office by the nominees, the president let the outgoing ministers, who will be participating in the May local elections, stay on in their position. Although the administration says the reason for this decision is because the appointees need to undergo parliamentary confirmation hearings, the political neutrality of the administration is being questioned. As ministers they have government perks of free transportation and aides -- and the opposition are questioning whether Roh is giving "government support" to the Uri Party instead of remaining neutral. (SITE NOTE: In the 31 May elections, the voters rejected all four former ministers in the election.)
  
  In an attempt to resolve opposition claims of illegal electioneering by incumbent government ministers, public prosecutors said on 6 Mar 2006 that they have launched investigations into at least two cabinet members suspected of pre-electioneering. Prosecutors said the probes follow official complaints by the GNP, and they may summon Environment Minister Lee Jae-yong and Maritime Affairs Minister Oh Keo-don for questioning.
  
  Going into the 31 May 2006 local elections, the country's populace was surveyed over and over by the news media with surprising results. There was a definite shift amongst the young to the middle -- away from the left-leaning positions of the Uri Party. The polls showed that the country's voters were shifting to the conservative side. The candidates that were picked for their popularity by the Uri Party were proving to be a bust. As they started their campaigns, it was apparent that the candidates from the Uri Party were facing an uphill battle. In North Cholla polls indicated that the Uri Party held a lead, but the South Cholla area was solidly in the DP (or MDP) camp. In the 31 May local elections, the GNP was expected to upset the Uri Party -- handing it a crushing defeat that might see it return to the fold of the DP (former MDP) from which it split away in 2003. The Uri Party is suffering from low approval ratings ahead of the May 31 local elections, amid public dismay in the Roh administration. The Uri candidates are leading the polls in only two of 16 key election battlegrounds while GNP counterparts enjoy healthy support ratings in 11 contests. The Uri Party started talking of a coalition with the DP even before the elections were held, but the animosity from its splitting away from the MDP (now DP) left some festering wounds.
  
  In the 31 May 2006 election, the GNP swept the elections in Seoul, leaving both executive and legislative representation in Seoul devoid of Uri members. On top of winning the mayor's post, the GNP clinched the entire 25 ward headship and 96 seats in the city council up for grabs. Six out of 10 council seats that were reserved for proportional representatives also went to the GNP candidates. The ruling Uri Party managed to get only two seats by proportional representation and the small opposition Democratic Party and Democractic Labor Party each got one seat.
  
  Among the 16 regional top posts, the main opposition GNP snatched 12 including Daejeon while the Uri took only one, North Jeolla Province. Even the Democratic Party outdid the ruling camp's count winning elections for South Jeolla governor and Gwangju mayor. Voters on the southern island of Jeju chose independent Kim Tae-hwan (the incumbent governor who was previously of the GNP) over GNP's Hyun Myung-kwan as its governor. Across the country, over two thirds of the 230 low-level headships went to the GNP. The GNP clinched 155 out of the 230 in stark contrast to Uri's humiliating 19. The vote share in the 31 May nationwide local elections shows the GNP on 51.3 percent, Uri on 26 percent, and the DP on 22.3 percent. Turnout is estimated at 51.6 percent - up 2.7 points from 2002.
  
  As the 31 May 2006 elections forecast a crushing defeat for the Uri Party, the Uri Party started to talk of a "coalition" with the DLP and DP. However, the DLP has often confronted the Uri party over several sensitive issues including the deployment of South Korean troops to Iraq and Assembly ratification of the government's rice talks as well as the planned free trade agreement between Korea and the United States.
  
  In response to the resounding defeat, the Uri Party Chairman Chung Dong-young stepped down accepting responsibility for the defeat. "The election results reflect the sentiment of the public and I respect that. By all means, I take full responsibility for the election outcome and will thus resign," said Chung at a press conference. It was Chung's second resignation since 2004, when he bowed out for making allegedly derogatory remarks against elderly electorates. The party was in complete disarray as it needed to seek new leadership -- and the electorate's rejection of the party made some state that the Uri Party was no longer effective. The DP said it was willing to welcome back former party members who defected to Uri when the new party was formed by President Roh and his loyalists. With less than two years left in the president's term, Uri's defeat was expected to weigh heavily as President Roh tried to advance the policy agendas of real estate reform and engaging North Korea.
  
  On 11 Nov 2006 Uri Party Representative Ahn Byong-yub was convicted of receiving 46 million won ($49,245) in political donations without filing receipts before the 2004 legislative election. Upholding a lower court's ruling, the Supreme Court ordered him to pay 3 million won in fines and forfeit 27.6 million won for violating the nation's political fund law. The ruling stripped Mr. Ahn of his seat, lowering the number of Uri Party seats to 139. The opposition Grand National Party holds 127 seats in the 299-seat National Assembly.
  
  President Roh's popularity sat at 10 percent after the Oct nuclear test highlighted the failure of his rapproachment policy. President Roh in an administrative policy speech to the National Assembly on 7 Nov called North Korea's nuclear test a "foolish act" and vowed to continue the Mount Kumgang tours and Kaesong Industrial Complex, two projects under his engagement policy, within the "spirit of the UN resolution." The friction grew within the Uri Party and the members started distancing themselves from the Blue House.
  
  In Nov 2006 Uri Party floor leader, Kim Han-gill, sounded as if he were delivering a funeral eulogy for his party. Mr. Kim said in a speech at the National Assembly, "The foundation of the Uri Party was a meaningful political experiment that history will remember. But now is the time to conclude the political experiment." He added, "We should sort out what we should keep and what we should discard, and we need another morning to start anew." He repeated his remark of last week that the future course of the party would be decided after this session of the National Assembly concluded in early December.
  
  The defeats of the Uri Party continued until it was apparent that the failed policies of Roh Moo-hyun would mean the defeat of the party in the 2007 elections. Kim Geun-tae, former Minister of Health and Welfare, who took over the Chairmanship from Chung had a falling out with President Roh and soon the party was divided along supporters who wished to seek "alliances" with the DP and those that remained firm supporters of Roh. In Dec 2006, the Uri Party sought out advice from its members whether to (1) rename the party or (2) seek "alliances" with the DP. There was much dissention in the ranks as loyalists to Roh refused to consider disbanding the party or other alternatives.
  
  In Dec 2006, Kim Tae-geun along with Chung Dong-young announced that they were breaking away from the Uri Party and forming a new party called the "People's Party."
  
  

  DEMISE OF THE URI PARTY

  In Jan 2007 there was serious dissention within the Uri Party ranks. "Those who agree with the GNP's ideas are free to join it," said Kim Geun-tae, chairman of the ruling Uri Party. "I'll not attend Emergency Planning Committee meetings where I can discuss nothing," said Kang Bong-kyun, the chief of the Uri Party's Policy Committee. Discord among the ruling Uri Party legislators who support the creation of a new party was intensifying as emotions ran higher. At the heart of the conflict over the policy direction of the proposed new party were party chairman Kim Geun-tae and the chief of the Policy Committee Kang Bong-kyun. Although they agreed to break up the Uri Party and form a new one, Kim, an ex-activist, and Kang, a former government official, differ in their approaches to the issue of apartment prices and engagement policy toward Pyongyang. While Kim supports disclosing housing prices and keeping the engagement policy in place, Kang expresses his opposing view, saying, "We lost our middle-class supporters because of the policies."
  
  Meanwhile, the Uri Party's former chairman Chung Dong-young was urged to 'stay farther from the center of power in the party' by the more modest Uri legislators. In response, the former Uri chairman clearly expressed his will to stay as closely engaged in his party as ever by saying on a radio show of the local broadcaster MBC, "No one has the right to say no or yes to anyone." He said, "I have an unlimited responsibility for the limitations and failures of the current administration and the Uri Party. To unite all of us in the ruling party, the party must take the initiative by dealing with its internal issues."
  
  At the end of Jan 2007, a group of lawmakers from the ruling Uri Party, joined by members of the minor opposition Democratic Party and the People First Party, unveiled plans to form a centrist coalition, throwing a new wrinkle into the ruling camp's discussions on creating a new party. Attention was focused on whether the coalition would be an alternative to the envisioned new party being promoted within the ruling camp, which was on the verge of a breakup.
  
  Analysts said that the moderate coalition provided a strong option for the ruling party, as it has a defined political direction and goal, in contrast with the plans of some ruling party lawmakers who have decided to strike out on their own. Uri Party lawmakers Im Jong-suk, Song Young-gil and Kim Boo-kyum agreed with Democratic Party Floor Leader Kim Hyo-seuk to kick off a preparatory committee for a moderate reform coalition. They planned to form a committee with 30 to 40 members and create a new party that would incorporate centrist ruling party lawmakers by March. Lawmaker Kim Hyo-seuk said that he would push for the reform coalition, which seeks to distance itself from the political influence of President Roh Moo-hyun and overcome regionalism.
  
  On 1 Feb, it was announced the Uri Party's leadership was seeking to block the desertion of some 20 to 30 of the party's lawmakers prior to its national convention on February 14th. A group of first-term lawmakers issued a call on the departure-ready legislators to withdraw their decision and seek a new, integrated party instead of leaving.. The deserters, seeking to form a new party, were expected to make their exit with former policy committee chair Kang Bong-kyun and former Uri Floor Leader Kim Han-gill as the new party's central figures.
  
  On 6 Feb, 23 Uri lawmakers bolted from the ruling camp to form a new party giving the GNP the majority of seats in the 296-member National Assembly. Any group with more than 20 lawmakers can register with the National Assembly as a parliamentary faction. The legislators quit the ruling Uri Party to form a new parliamentary faction and creating a new structure in the National Assembly with two government sides. Accordingly, this new structure is expected to radically change the two-party structure within the National Assembly and directly impact the presidential race currently led by the GNP candidates. This is the first time in 19 years, after the 13th General Elections in 1988 resulted in the four-party ruling system, for the National Assembly to have a multi-party structure by the standard of floor negotiation group (20 seats).
  
  The defectors included former Uri floor leader Kim Han-gill and former chief policy-maker Kang Bong-kyun. Their defection reduced the ruling party's seats in the National Assembly to 110, making it the second biggest after the Grand National Party's 127. The defection brought the number of losses to 29 this year. Three or four more were expected to defect dealing a severe blow to President Roh Moo-hyun and his already lame-duck government. Both the Uri Party and GNP slammed the defections as "runaway lawmakers" -- whose only justification appeared to be that they wanted to distance themselves from Roh Moo-hyun.
  
  Dissolve soon, Kim Geun-tae tells Uri Party (May 2007) On 2 May, former Uri chairman Chung Dong-young shocked his colleagues by announcing plans to withdraw from the pro-government party. In an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo, Chung Dong-young also mentioned the need for the Uri Party to break up in order to allow a new liberal alliance to emerge.
  
  Kim Geun-tae, another pivotal figure in the group, said he believed the Uri Party should be dissolved within the month. "A new alliance group should be formed by mid-June," Kim said yesterday, citing the date the struggling party's leaders had fixed earlier this year to turn around the group's fortunes after more than 30 lawmakers quit Uri. "If the party does not dissolve by then, I will have to think whether I should fish or cut bait," Kim said. Insiders feel that Kim would leave the party within the month. Chung and Kim control the two largest factions within the Uri and their abandonment of the party may prompt a second wave of walkouts. (Source: Joongang Ilbo.)
  
  Roh quit the Uri Party earlier this year, but his departure has done little to ease the group's troubles. Roh still hoped for the Uri Party to be revived.
  
  Roh Loyalists turning to Liberal Alliance (May 2007) President Roh Moo-hyun's loyalists in the Uri Party are backtracking from their opposition to a proposed alliance with the Democratic Party. The turnaround came as leaders of the two parties met yesterday to discuss their partnership ahead of the December presidential election. The DP is also courted by a splinter group of 20 lawmakers who defected from the embattled Uri.
  
  Roh supporters inside Uri had categorically opposed party leader Chung Sye-kyun's drive to merge with the DP, which commands a strong power base in the southwestern Jeolla provinces. They insisted on maintaining the party, which was founded in 2003 by President Roh and fellow defectors from the DP. The fracture in the liberal camp made it difficult to make its move to form an alliance which will challenge the strong Grand National Party, which garners overwhelming approval ratings.
  
  "We cannot go against the tide toward alliance anymore," said Lee Hae-chan, a senior Uri advisor and key Roh confidant. The former prime minister said he will try to dissuade lawmakers from holding on to the party.
  
  In an abrupt about-face, Roh also said on 11 May that he was willing to accept the Uri Party's decision to align with other political groups. (NOTE: Roh resigned from the party as the Uri Party tried to distance itself from him.) Another key pro-Roh lawmaker said yesterday, "It is now meaningless to maintain the Uri Party. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said Roh loyalists are moving to support the move toward an alliance. However, it is not clear whether staunch Roh supporters such as Health and Welfare Minister Rhyu Si-min will join in the move to ally with outside forces. (NOTE: The staunch Uri Party die-hards are the last of the radical "democracy fighters." In May 2007, Rhyu resigned from the Roh cabinet.)
  
  Uri Party leader Chung and his DP counterpart Park Sang-cheon on 11 May commenced talks on a possible alliance. The meeting was made at the request of Park, who proposed to both the Uri and its splinter group the formation of a steering committee to launch a joint front. However, the Uri-DP dialogue failed to produce tangible results amid disputes over which group will play the leading role in the envisioned union.
  
  In a related development, Rep. Kim Han-gill, the head of a new party launched by Uri defectors, on 11 May voiced optimism that an alliance between his group, tentatively named the "New Party for Centrist Reform and Alliance" and the DP will shape up soon. Kim claimed that he and Park made substantial progress in merger talks on May 10. Since quitting the embattled Uri en masse in February 2007 and subsequently forming a parliamentary negotiating bloc, the politicians have tried to create an alliance with the DP. But those efforts failed due to disputes over which group would take the lead in the proposed alliance. Amid lackluster progress in alliance negotiations, the group formed its own party to have a greater say in talks with the DP.
  
  Meanwhile, Kim Geun-tae, a former Uri chairman, on 11 May ratcheted up criticism on the unpopular president, accusing him of attempting to maintain the Uri Party and hampering a merger. Echoing previous calls by former Uri chairman Chung Dong-young, Kim urged Roh to dissolve a forum evaluating the participatory government, a group created by former high-ranking officials to promote the achievements of the Roh government. Cheong Wa Dae yesterday denied that Roh is trying to maintain the party. Roh has slammed Kim and Chung for trying to distance themselves from the unpopular administration for political gain. The pair is eyeing bids for the presidency. (Source: Korea Herald.)
  
  Uri Defectors Merge with Democratic Party (Jun 2007) By the end of May, it appeared that negotiations between the Democratic Party and the group of 20 defectors from the Uri Party had been just about finalized. This was the first concrete move to realign the embattled liberal lineup ahead of December's presidential election. A group of 20 lawmakers who defected from the unpopular pro-government Uri Party allied with President Roh Moo-hyun announced its merger with the minor liberal opposition Democratic Party on 3 Jun. In the meantime, there were more rumors of further defections from the Uri Party.
  
  On 4 Jun 2007 the Democratic Party ("DP") and the New Party for Centurist Reform ("NPCR") announced their alliance. The NPCR is comprised mostly of congressional members who have split from the ruling Uri Party. Once joined, the two parties will create the third largest party in the National Assembly with 33 congressional members (13 from the DP, and 20 from the NPCR). According to the agreement, they will name the newly created party the "Unified Centrists' Democratic Party" (Unified Democratic Party). In the meanwhile, the Uri Party's former congressional members Lew Seon-ho and Woo Yoon-keun will reportedly join the Democratic Party increasing the party's congressional membership to 35 seats.
  
  The New Party for Centrist Reform and Alliance and the Democratic Party will likely increase their membership before registering the new party by attracting Uri Party legislators whose electorates are in Gwangju and South Jella province, independent legislators who bolted from the Uri party, and some Uri lawmakers who are not pro-Roh Moo-hyun.
  
  More than 40 Uri Party lawmakers, including former party leaders and potential presidential candidates, were to desert the embattled party in the second week of June and join forces with DP and NPCR. The alliance move received fresh momentum on 5 Jun as DP leader Park Sang-cheon backed down from his position that the envisioned political union should exclude staunch loyalists to President Roh Moo-hyun in the Uri Party. The DP had been reluctant to accept former ministers and Roh loyalists in the Uri Party, viewing them as negative factors to drive away voters. The breakdown reflected the acrimony that the DP has long harbored toward Uri and Roh. Uri was formed by defectors from the DP in 2003 and soon joined by Roh who had been elected president on the Democratic Party ticket.
  
  The developments were expected to accelerate the creation of a grand union of liberal politicians to compete with the Grand National Party in the December presidential election, though they had to overcome daunting hurdles in policy differences, political interests and possibly unfavorable public reaction about what critics have described as an "illicit" liaison.
  
  The new defection is expected to deal the strongest blow yet to the Uri that has already suffered from massive lawmaker defections. The exodus will include former party leaders and Roh ministers, Chung Dong-young and Kim Geun-tae, who lead separate large factions in the party. The pair are strong potential presidential candidates. Another former chairman, Moon Hee-sang, who served as Roh's chief of staff. will also quit the party. Many first- and second-term lawmakers were expected to join in the mass defection. More than 30 lawmakers have jumped ship this year, reducing the number of lawmakers to 106 from 139 in January.
  
  With the presidential race only six months away, the liberal political camp will be restructured into three forces -- the remains of Uri, the Centrist United Party and a third party -- aggravating competition for leadership. Former Justice Minister Chun Jung-bae and other legislators including Jung Sung-ho, Lee Kang-rae and Jun Byung-hun who were previously reluctant to join the alliance indicated they would join the third group. Lawmakers supporting the third party had been criticizing the centrist party as a "minor unification" with no clear policy line.
  
  (Jun 2007) On 8 Jun a group of 16 junior lawmakers bolted from the pro-government party Friday to align with other forces and establish a reformist bloc, Yonhap News Agency reported. The lawmakers said they would join forces with those who had already deserted the Uri Party and other liberal groups to establish a new party with a broad membership. With the departures of the 16 lawmakers, the Uri Party was left with 91 seats in the 299-member unicameral parliament, but political pundits said dozens more lawmakers opposing Roh are expected to quit the Uri Party by the end of June 2007 and that only 40-59 legislators loyal to the president would remain in the party. (Source: Korea Times.) Soon five more joined them bringing the total to 21 defectors from the Uri Party.
  
  On 15 Jun Uri lawmakers jumped ship and joined the previous Uri defectors in the merger with the DP. About 20 to 30 more lawmakers were expected to leave the party by July. On 17 Jun former Uri Party chairman Chung Dong-young quit the besieged party, pledging to pursue a wide alliance capable of competing against the popular conservative Grand National Party in the December presidential election.
  
  Uri to Merge With United New Democratic Party in Mid-August (Aug 2007) The pro-government Uri Party will merge with a party created on 5 Aug by deserters from the Uri Party and the Centrist United Democratic Party in mid-August. The Uri party needed to decide whether to merge with the liberal party no later than Aug. 20. Uri leaders are considering holding a party convention between Aug. 16 and 18 to announce the merger. However, some presidential hopefuls, who are loyal to President Roh Moo-hyun, oppose the merger, insisting the Uri Party should merge with the liberal party on an equal footing. They claimed that the Uri Party should pick its presidential candidate through its own primary race and then consider joining hands with the upstart party unless they are accepted as an equal partner.
  
  Some others are seeking to file a lawsuit against the proposed merger. If the court upholds it, the Uri Party will not be able to hold the party convention. The new party, which has 85 seats in the 299-member National Assembly, is the second largest negotiating group. The Uri Party has 58 seats, while the main opposition GNP has 128. (Source: Korea Times.)
  
  Finally the Uri Party announced in a party convention on 18 Aug that it would disband and merge with the United New Democratic Party. With 5,350 Uri representatives attending the convention, Uri approved the merge, which is in the form of absorption. The UNDP will take on all of Uri's assets and liabilities. When the two parties officially sign the deal, Uri will automatically dissolve. In a statement, Uri chairman Chung Se-kyun assessed his party's past achievements and failures, apologized to the public on the merge and vowed to become a renewed party. Launched in November 2003 as a split from the then Democratic Party, Uri has disintegrated in three years and nine months.
  
  

• PEOPLE'S PARTY

  Uri Party chairman Kim Geun-tae and former chairman Chung Dong-young in an emergency meeting on 28 Dec 2006 agreed to create a new party, to be called the People's Party. In a thinly veiled warning to President Roh to keep his hands off, the two said it will be "autonomous and independent from outside political influence." That finalized the two ex-Cabinet minister's break with their former boss.
  
  A clash between supporters of the president and followers of Kim and Chung, the largest faction in the party, seems inevitable. In a letter to Uri Party members on Dec. 4, Roh opposed the creation of the new party, which he accused of being "regionally based" -- a dire failing in the eyes of a man who made overcoming "regionalism" a top priority. On Thursday, Cheong Wa Dae made it clear once again that it does not want to see the ruling party return to regional base and that the party identity should be maintained. It added the fate of Uri and creation of a new party should be determined at the party's national convention.
  
  But the rebels rejected any intervention by the president. According to Uri Party spokesman Woo Sang-ho, by calling for an autonomous and independent party, the group made it clear that it would be inappropriate for outside political forces, including the president, to comment and cause "unnecessary misunderstanding." Kim and Chung in the text of their agreement said people "despair" of the ruling party and vowed to join hands with "peaceful, reformative and future-oriented forces." However, they promised to faithfully support the administration for the success of the government during Roh's remaining tenure. In response, lawmaker Lee Hwa-young, a Roh loyalist, blamed Kim and Chung for the failure of the ruling party, urging them to quit the party if they don't want to stay with it.
  
  In late Jan 2007, key Uri Party lawmakers continued to abandon the ruling party even after President Roh Moo-hyun appealed to the party to remain. The defectors included close comrades of the president. Rep. Chun Jung-bae, a founding member, former justice minister under Roh and the party’s floor leader, announced his departure from the party after Im Jong-in, Lee Kye-ahn and Choi Jae-cheon, and Yeom Dong-youn, Roh's campaign aide in 2002. With the losses in January, the ruling party had 134 seats in parliament, only seven more than the Grand National Party.
  
  The threat of the further exodus of its lawmakers was slowed as the central committee passed revised party statutes, the outline of which was to scrap the grassroots party member system and introduce a basic/contributive party member system, which those in favor of a new party have called for. To expand its membership through a constitutional revision, the Uri Party called its central committee and held a vote. The central committee's 63 members passed the revision by an overwhelming 62 to one on 29 Jan. The balloting was required after a court rejected its initial decision to do so under the agreement of a small circle of leading lawmakers.
  
  The Uri party now claims 850,000 dues-paying members. Under the relaxed qualification, the number is expected to shoot up to 115,000. To be a member of the ruling party under the original rule, one was required to have paid party dues (2,000 won or US$2) each month for more than six months or have attended the party's official events at least two times over the past year. The new rule eased the restriction to three months. The passage of the revision was possible through a compromise of some Roh loyalists who had insisted a strict membership would keep the party's initial intention to bar mediocre members. The easing of membership rules was a positive step toward the planned national convention on February 14th.
  
  However, political watchers expected that the move would do little to salvage the Uri Party from its imminent breakup. On 6 Feb, twenty lawmakers left the ruling Uri Party en masse, led by Kim Han-gill, former floor leader of the party, and Kang Bong-kyun, former policy committee chairman. The defection of 20 lawmakers left the Uri Party with 110 seats, giving the opposition Grand National Party the most seats in the National Assembly. The defectors planned to form a new parliamentary negotiating bloc, which required at least 20 members, at the National Assembly in early Feb with members who have already left the party, such as Rep. Yum Dong-yun.
  
  

• DEMOCRATIC PARTY -- MERGED 2007:

  New Party for Centrist Reform (NPCR) merge with DP to form United Centrists Democratic Party (or Unified Democratic Party). The Democratic Party is the party that Kim Dae-jung built as the Millineum Democratic Party (MDP). After Roh Moo-hyun won the Presidency under the MDP, Roh split away to join the Uri Party. Centered in the Cholla provinces, it competed with the GNP whose power base was in the more populous southeast. It held 11 seats in the 299-member legislature at the start of 2006, but by the end of the year, its seats had dwindled to 9 due to convictions due to election campaign violations or illegal fund-raising.
  
  On 6 May 2005, it changed its name to the Democratic Party attempt to show that it was a changed party. In Dec 2006, the DP joined with the ruling Uri Party to provide the votes to railroad legislation through the National Assembly that would otherwise have been stymied. The DP's power base is in the Cholla area, but seems to lost much of its former prominence to the GNP. The ruling was a major setback for the DP, which has been seeking more political clout through alliances with an infant opposition group, the People First Party or former Prime Minister Goh Kun. The DP is expected to continue to ask former Prime Minister Goh Kun, who is believed to be one of the possible candidates in the next presidential election, to join the party this year. Goh has been reluctant to select a party at this time. President Roh and the DP have maintained an uneasy relationship since the president bolted from the party with his supporters shortly after winning the presidency on the ticket of the Millennium Democratic Party, predecessor of the DP.
  
  Rep. Hahn Hwa-kap, chairman of the minor opposition Democratic Party (DP) and four-term lawmaker, described the suspended 10-month jail term he received in a court ruling as ``political persecution by the Roh Moo-hyun administration.'' Hahn, was convicted by the Seoul High Court for receiving illicit political funds worth some 1 billion won ($1 million) from companies, including SK Group during the party's primary race in early 2002. If the top court upholds the ruling, Hahn will lose his parliamentary seat. Hahn pledged he would appeal to the court to suspend the ruling of the Supreme Court until President Roh finishes his single five-year term in February 2008 -- claiming that Roh is as guilty as he is. On 22 Dec 2006, Hahn Hwa-kap, the head of the opposition Democratic Party (DP) was sentenced to probation by the Supreme Court Friday. The sentence automatically stripped him of his seat in the National Assembly. The nation's highest court upheld a lower court's ruling that sentenced Hahn to 10 months in prison, two years of probation, and payment of one billion won of forfeit for taking illegal political contribution of 1.5 billion won from SK Group. Furthermore, a provision of party rules prohibits one who doesn't have the right to vote from being a party member. Under these rules, Hahn lost his party membership and resigned his position as head of the Democratic Party.
  
  "We will continue to seek alliances with moderate reformist and pragmatist forces to win the forthcoming local elections," he said, confirming there was "no interest" in joining hands with the Uri. Some Uri members, calling for a united front of all liberal democratic forces to counter the fast-grouping conservatives, floated the idea of Uri-DP coalition. The DP, despite its reduced political presence, still holds sway in the southern province of Jeolla.
  
  On 22 Apr 2006, Seoul Police arrested the MDP secretary-general Jo Jae-hwan on charges of accepting 400 million won from a former lawmaker seeking candidacy in an upcoming May 2006 mayoral election. Police caught Jo, 57, in his car carrying two boxes filled with hundreds of millions of won on the night of 19 April 2006 in Hongeun-dong, western Seoul. Jo allegedly took the bribe from former MDP lawmaker Choi Rak-do, 68, in a hotel in return for backing Choi during the party's nomination process for the Gimje mayoral race in the upcoming May local elections. Jo was immediately arrested and faces detention.
  
  There was speculation that the Uri Party after facing a defeat might join the Democratic Party, but given the severe distrust the DP harbors, experts warn that even if an alliance was produced, much bickering is expected over who would obtain the upper hand in the presidential ballot. The DP has called President Roh, who won the 2002 presidential election on the MDP's ticket, a ``traitor,'' and urged him to pay back some 4.3 billion won left as a debt to the MDP after the presidential race.
  
  In the 31 May 2006 elections, the Democratic Party said it would soon put forth a presidential candidate of its own, possibly by allying with former Prime Minister Goh Kun -- who had remained non-committal. "Next year will be the year we come back to politics," said DP leader Hahn Hwa-gap. After the Uri Party's trouncing at the polls, the DP said it was willing to welcome back former party members who defected to Uri when the new party was formed by President Roh and his loyalists. The DP gained strength after winning the Kwangju mayoral and South Cholla gubernatorial seats on its home turf of Cholla in the 31 May elections. The DP took 20 lower-level leadership posts mostly from Jeolla provinces.
  
  After the mass defection from the Uri Party on 6 Feb 2007, the DP said it would play a leading role in the formation of a new party. It also said the mass defection proved that the Uri Party's political experiment was a failure. Some 40 lawmakers bolted from the DP to create the Uri Party in 2003, calling for political reforms such as the eradication of the nation's deep-seated regional rivalry. The DP is based in the southwestern Jeolla region. "The Uri Party betrayed the DP and split the centrist and reformist forces. It should have not been born in the first place," DP spokesperson Lee Sang-yeol said.
  
  On 8 Feb 2007 another lawmaker quit the embattled ruling Uri Party just days after a mass defection of 23 lawmakers, bringing to 30 the number of defectors. Rep. You Sun-ho bolted from the ruling Uri Party as the extremely unpopular party is struggling to regroup ahead of December's presidential election.
  
  On 4 Jun 2007 the Democratic Party ("DP") and the New Party for Centurist Reform ("NPCR") announced their alliance. The NPCR is comprised mostly of congressional members who have split from the ruling Uri Party. Once joined, the two parties will create the third largest party in the National Assembly with 33 congressional members (13 from the DP, and 20 from the NPCR). According to the agreement, they will name the newly created party the "Unified Centrists' Democratic Party" (Unified Democratic Party). The Unified Democratic Party will be governed by a joint leadership consisting of 12 members from both parties, including Park and Kim. The new party will also appoint a total of 150 members (75 members from each party) on its central committee.
  
  The two parties also reached a compromise on a key issue that had hindered their merger. The insistence on "exclusion of a certain group" was watered down to a sentence reading, "Learning from the previous failure in national administration, we open ourselves to all people who share the cause of centrist reform to achieve grand alliance." The compromise was borne out upon Park's unconditional acceptance of the NPCR's demand, which seems to be intended to appease the opposition from DP members supporting broader alliance.
  
  The Democratic Party was to convene its central governing board to officially ratify the agreement. In addition, the two parties were to organize a working-level joint team today to work on the details. Once all these things are done, they were to complete the merger by registering the new party with the National Election Commission by the 15th of June 2007. In the meanwhile, the Uri Party's former congressional members Lew Seon-ho and Woo Yoon-keun was to reportedly join the Democratic Party today, increasing the party's congressional membership to 35 seats.
  
  

• GRAND NATIONAL PARTY

  (BACKGROUND: After the disastrous decision to impeach Roh in Mar 2004, the GNP brought Park Geun-hye in to "save the party." Surprisingly, she proved to be effective in turning the negative public opinion around enough to prevent a total debacle for the party. In the Apr 2004 election, as expected the Uri Party received a "backlash" vote that put it into power. Roh then started to push through his agenda claiming he had a mandate from the people -- and the GNP has been almost powerless to stop. However, by May 2005 the GNP had made inroads and took five of the six seats up for grabs in the by-election -- while the Uri Party won none.
  
  The Fair Trade Act was railroaded through in Dec 2004 by passing it when most of the GNP was not present in the National Assembly. This gave Roh the power to use the FTC as a tool to go after the chaebols and the "gangster press" was passed in 2005. (Source: Donga Ilbo.)
  
  On 15 Mar 2006 the Roh government appointed Prof. Kwon Oh-seung of Seoul National University's Law Faculty as head of the Fair Trade Commission. Kwon, who teaches a course in fair trade law, is known as the country's top authority in the area and has often criticized the commission when there were problems with its independence and regulatory policies. According to the Chosun Ilbo, "The role of the FTC, the Fair Trade Law says, is "to foster creative corporate activities by facilitating fair and free competition and ensure the protection of consumers and balanced development of the national economy." With outgoing commissioner Kang Chul-kyu at the helm, it has hardly been faithful to these essential functions. To be sure, the FTC regulated numerous businesses and imposed a lot of fines during Kang's tenure. But little of that has benefited the people or spared the consumer inconvenience, and the reason is that the commission gave priority to political considerations when it made its judgments."
  
  In Mar 2006, the hope was that the FTC would return to being an independent body. The FTC was originally established so it would take orders from no one, including the president, so that the commissioners could perform their duties according to their independent judgment.
  
  Though the U.S. Federal Trade Commission neither attends meetings chaired by the president nor reports to him, the Korean FTC "has practically acted as a sort of economic prosecution for the government. In attempts to punish newspapers critical of the government since the Kim Dae-jung administration, the government has often wielded the weapon of tax audits or FTC investigations. Following a politically motivated investigation of the head offices of newspapers in 2001, the FTC imposed W24.2 billion (US$24.2 million) in fines which it later had to cancel when it became clear that the courts would strike them down." (Source: Chosun Ilbo.)
  
  The issue of abolishing the National Security Law (NSL) and revising the criminal law, was pressed by the Uri Party in Oct 2004 when the bill to abolish the NSL was submitted by the Uri Party. In August 2004 the Constitutional Court ruled that the law did not excessively restrict human rights, but in October 2004, the ruling Uri party introduced legislation to loosen or scrap the law, offering the country alternatives ranging from revisions of the existing law to the drafting of an entirely new law. The move was part of the government's broader reform drive, but thousands of people rallied in protest, asserting that the law in its current form was still a necessary safeguard against security threats from North Korea. The GNP occupied the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's chambers to prevent Uri's version from being introduced for committee review. In Apr 2005, the GNP input a revision bill that eliminated some of the provisions but retained the NSL. The GNP proposed excluding "failure to report" pro-North Korean activities from the list of punishable crimes and limit the prosecution of "praise and encouragement" for the North to cases in which such activity is done with intent to aid the enemy. The Uri Party could only muster 107 votes from Uri and opposition legislators in favor of abolishing the NSL and the push failed. The Uri Party floor leader resigned over the "embarrassment." (Source: Asia Media.)
  
  The "progressive" activist movement to abolish the NSL is not over. On 18 Dec 2005, 5,000 people gathered in Kwanghwamoon to hold a 'Candlelight March to Stop Anti-Communist Attacks and for Abolition of NSL' to "strongly condemn" the GNP. On 22 Dec 2005, the 'National Solidarity for Abolition of the NSL' condemned the leadership of the Uri Party while mobilizing campaigns in cyber space and mass candlelight demonstrations. "The leadership of the Uri Party has backed away under the formalistic rhetoric of normalizing the National Assembly, and has accommodated most of the demands of the Grand National Party. There are dangers now that they will attempt to revise or legislate alternative laws through 4-party talks. The weight lies on the opinion that it will in fact be impossible to abolish the NSL within this year." (Source: KCTU.)
  
  The media relations act or Press Arbitration Law was passed in 2005. This law along with the Newspaper Law of 2004 was aimed at subjugating the conservative press. Decisions on the laws' constitutionality are pending before the Constitutional Court through petitions by the Donga Ilbo and Chosun Ilbo. They claim they are being "punished" through the use of the National Tax Service (NTS) audits and Fair Trade Commission (FTC) crackdowns on alleged "monopolies." (See Freedom of the Press: Korean-style (or "Gangster Press" Under Siege) (Jan 2006) for details.)
  
  The act on fact-finding investigations on past events creating the "Truth Committee" was passed in 2005. In February 2005, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) Development Committee for Clarifying the Past, or "Truth Committee," led by Rev. Oh Choong-il, began to reinvestigate seven suspicious cases from past authoritarian regimes, including Inhyoktang. Roh defended it as a matter of utmost importance to redress the past wrongs that had been hidden in secrecy. The history law passed in May 2005 under the mantle of righting past wrongs will obviously play a key role in portraying privilege and former governments as enemies of the nation and the state. (See Roh to "Correct" History by looking into Past Wrongdoings of NIS for recent events.) The first report in Dec 2005 condemned Park Chung-hee for his role in the executions of 8 protestors but it was a report based on "circumstantial evidence" and opinion -- not "proof." The "Truth Committee" was to look into the kidnapping of Kim Dae-jung in 2006 in hopes of discrediting Park Geum-hye, Park Chung-hee's daugher and chairman of the GNP.)
  
  

  The private school act was railroaded through in Nov 2005 causing the GNP to walk out of the National Assembly. Though the Uri Party had lost its majority -- and Roh's call for a coalition government was rebuked by the GNP -- the Uri Party joined with the Democratic Party (DP) and Democratic Labor Party (DLP) to pass the legislation. (See Education Law to Hobble Private Schools (Nov 2005-Dec 2005) for 2005 actions and Private School Law Escalate into Nationwide Crisis (Jan 2006) for on-going Jan 2006 actions.) As of Jan 2006, the GNP continued their walkout and "took their campaign to the streets" along with the private school associations stating they would not receive new students in 2006. In addition, petitions were submitted to the Constitutional Court to overturn the law. However, the GNP campaign was blunted when Roh threatened to punish the schools by replacing their school boards if necessary. The schools relented leaving the GNP alone -- and many GNP members wanted to abandon the campaign. However, Park convinced them to continue the protest alone in Jan 2006.
  
  On 29 Jan Uri and GNP broke the deadlock that saw the GNP boycott parliamentary sessions since Dec. 9. in protest against the Uri Party's railroading of controversial private school legislation. The two reached a vaguely worded agreement that they "can discuss the revision of the law for the development of private schools and rooting out corruption." However, soon they were again at odds with the Uri Party as they railroaded their legislation through the National Assembly again. The GNP used the same methods that they denounced the Uri Party of by blocking the private residence of the Speaker.
  
  GNP Chairwoman Park Geun-hye repeated her strong resistance to the governing Uri Party's private school reform law in Jan 2006 and the continuing National Assembly boycott. Ms. Park blamed the political deadlock on the Uri Party. Ms. Park said, "The governing party first started it all, so it has to make efforts [to end the deadlock]. There's nothing we can do." This is a strange statement that the GNP walked out of the National Assembly when it was apparent that the Private School bill was going to be railroaded and has boycotted the National Assembly ever since. (See Education Law to Hobble Private Schools (Nov 2005-Dec 2005) for background on dispute.)
  
  The GNP boycott was supposedly over the Private School issue, but it was apparent that the GNP strategy was to boycott the National Assembly because it could NOT block the key legislation passage. After the Uri Party banded together with the Democratic Party (DP) and the Democratic Labor Party (DLP), the Uri Party had the votes to pass the legislation through. Though some members of the GNP wanted to return to fight the battle over key real estate reform legislation in the National Assembly -- even if their loss was assured -- Park Geun-hye convinced the GNP members to retain the boycott.
  
  The GNP strategy was to turn the legislation that had been railroaded through in their absence against the Uri Party -- and DLP and DP. Whether the GNP is present or not, the bills will be passed. Therefore, the GNP simply boycotted the National Assembly on the seemingly ideological issue of Private School reform and let the Uri Party -- with the DLP and DP help -- pass the key bills. "If the ruling party operates the parliament single-handedly as it did to railroad the private school bill, it solely will be held responsible for the outcome," GNP chairwoman Park Geun-hye said in Dec 2005. Then in 2006, the Uri Party -- and DLP and DP -- can take all the blame if the programs go awry -- which they will.
  
  Out of the total 299 assembly seats, the governing Uri takes up 144 counting the support from the Democratic Labor Party (DLP) and Democratic Party (formerly MDP), followed by the GNP's 127. The GNP boycotting of the National Assembly is a "all-or-nothing" proposition and a high risk gamble for Park Geun-hye. Recently, some party members have disagreed with Ms. Park over the boycott. (See Uri Party Ready to Railroad Bills (Dec 2005) for background on dispute.)
  
  
  Former GNP Chairman Park Geun-hye
  
  However, the GNP arguments to justify the boycott started to sound strangely undemocratic. Ms. Park said, "Regardless of the party's interests, the struggle over the private school law will continue from the conviction that it is the right thing to do in the name of history." Private school groups protesting the law revision have filed a petition questioning its constitutionality to the Constitutional Court. Ms. Park said she'd continue to denounce the law even if the court rules it constitutional, saying, "The private school reform law runs counter to free democracy, which is why we cannot accept such education regardless of the Constitutional Court's ruling." (SITE NOTE: We wondered if this was a mis-translation as she is saying that the GNP will denounce the democratic process if it rules against them in the name of democracy. This was very strange.)
  
  On 29 Jan Uri and GNP broke the deadlock that saw the GNP boycott parliamentary sessions since Dec. 9. in protest against the Uri Party's railroading of controversial private school legislation. The two reached a vaguely worded agreement that they "can discuss the revision of the law for the development of private schools and rooting out corruption." The ruling-party leadership made it clear it had no intention to change the law again. Some within the GNP have turned on the party leaders -- both GNP floor leader Lee Jae-oh who led the negotiation and chairwoman Park Geun-hye who led the boycott -- grumbling that the situation is going exactly the way the ruling party wanted. After the private school associations broke ranks, the public support started to turn against the GNP for not participating in the passage of the 2006 budget and fighting -- though they would have lost anyway.)
  
  Then when things seemed to be going the GNP's way, its Secretary General was dismissed for sexually harassing a female journalist. Rep. Choi Yeon-hee, a three-term lawmaker who was elected as the party's secretary general in November 2005, was accused of sexually harassing a female reporter from the Donga Ilbo during a dinner meeting/evening karaoke party on 24 Feb. Choi, 62, said he was intoxicated at the time and apologized for his misdeed which carried an in-depth report on the incident. Choi is reported to have embraced a Dong-a Ilbo reporter from behind and fondled her breasts at a drinking party. The lawmaker's excuse was that he did it because he "thought she was the owner" of the bar -- meaning its ok to grope bar girls. Choi was a judge and a prosecutor before becoming an assemblyman. On 6 Mar, the GNP attempted damage control because of falling feminist support over the incident. The GNP promised 30 percent of positions -- either directly voted on or from proportional seats -- will be allocated to women. It also promised to "train" GNP members on sexual harrassment issues.
  
  

  (SITE NOTE: A three-term politician fondling a female journalist in public is suicide -- drunk or not. Though we do not know the exact details, it just seems wierd that after 12 years, a politician (with experience as judge and prosecutor) should even get drunk in the presence of a journalist. They will turn on the politicians at the slightest provocation -- and have done so many, many times to twist the politicians words and actions for sensationalist effect. The dinner was with six other co-workers, including the managing editor of the daily, and GNP post holders, reports said. The dinner, which is estimated to have cost some six million won ($6,000), was hosted by key GNP post holders including Rep. Park Geun-hye, chairwoman of the party, as a conventional practice to treat reporters from a few selected news media.
  
  Choi refused to defend himself besides his initial statement, but he also refused to resign his National Assembly seat as other parties have demanded. The GNP wanted the story quietly silenced before the Uri Party could use it to their advantage in the May elections. On 27 Feb Choi resigned from the GNP, but did not give up his seat.
  
  The female reporter was said to be prepared to sue Choi -- and supposedly senior officials of the GNP attempted to persuade her not to do so. Public opinion in Mar 2006 was that Choi should resign -- but things could change in a month in Korean politics, so Choi simply weathered the storm ... as Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan's "golf scandal" popped up to take most of the heat off Choi. (See Lee Hae-chun above.) After Lee Hae-chan resigned on 15 Mar, the focus again returned to Choi and all four opposition parties as well as the Uri Party called for his resignation as a lawmaker. However, on 20 Mar Choi stated to the press that he would NOT resign his National Assembly seat until the court process is complete. In a press conference at the Assembly, Choi apologized for his ``inconsiderate act,'' but made it certain that he has no intention to abandon his Assembly post unless the court deprives him of his seat. ``I'd like to apologize to the public, especially the female reporter and my supporters in the Tonghae-Samchok constituency, Kangwon Province,'' Choi said. ``But I'd like to follow the court ruling (before I decide whether to leave the Assembly or not).'' Others parties still clamored for him to resign. In the end, everyone forgot about Choi and the whole thing blew over as other sex scandals and corruption scandals popped up. Though he lost his leadership position, he retained his seat. And true to form, by May 2006, Choi's episode was pushed to the back of everyone's mind. On 10 Nov Rep Choi Yeon-hee was sentenced to six months in jail, suspended for one year for sexually harassing a female reporter. Under Korean law, a legislator automatically loses his or her National Assembly seat if the Supreme Court hands down a sentence with 1 million won or more in fines for violating the political fund law or is sentenced to jail, whether the term is suspended or not. Choi quit the GNP and is currently not affiliated with any party.

  Then in April 2006, there were accusations that two GNP leaders had accepted bribes from hopefuls for public office.
  
  

  The GNP on 12 Apr 2006 decided to request a formal investigation of two of its own legislators suspected of receiving bribes from election hopefuls. The GNP said it would ask the prosecution to look into allegations that two of its representatives, including former floor leader Kim Deog-ryong, accepted kickbacks from people hoping to win the party's candidacy in upcoming local elections. The other legislator is Park Sung-vum, a two-term lawmaker who heads the party's Seoul chapter.
  
  The rare, if not unprecedented, decision comes as the party has been working for nearly four years to improve its public image following the conviction of its former leaders and legislators on charges of receiving illegal political donations during the 2002 presidential election. The opposition party was humiliated as "the most corrupt party" after campaign managers of its former presidential candidate Lee Hoi-chang were found to have accepted vehicles loaded with tens of millions of dollars in illegal election funds during the 2002 election. The party's reputation seemed to have recovered when it donated a 110 billion won (US$114 million) training center to state coffers in July 2005 as a way of showing repentance. The latest corruption scandal, however, is expected to put the party right back where it started, with some of its legislators already calling on the leadership to take responsibility. (Source: Yonhap News.)
  
  The investigation was postponed until after the 31 May elections because of the potential of adversely affecting the outcomes of the elections. These would be added to the mass of investigations that were delayed over alleged thousands of campaigning violations that would need to be investigated -- with some potentially able to strip winners of their seats.

  On 20 May 2006 Park Geun-hye was slashed while campaigning for the party in Seoul. Immediately following the attack, the GNP saw its support rating increase to 48 percent from 45.4 percent after its chairwoman Park Geun-hye was attacked. Support for the ruling Uri Party decreased from 20 percent to 18.9 percent in the 21 May opinion poll. The Democratic Labor Party went from 10.5 percent to 9.7 percent, and the Millennium Democratic Party from 4.3 percent to 3.8 percent. (Source: Chosun Ilbo.) Nationwide, GNP candidates still enjoy a healthy support rating in 11 out of a total 16 key contests, while rapidly closing the gap with their Uri counterparts in Daejeon and the southern island province of Jeju. Later polls showed that the GNP had taken the lead over the Uri Party in Daejon and Cheju Island which were previously considered neck-and-neck races. Voters in the central provinces of Chungcheong seemed to be lost after their longtime favorite party, the United Liberal Democrats, fell on hard times and merged with the GNP following the retirement of its charismatic leader, Kim Jong-pil in 2004. Ahead of the May 31 local elections, opinion polls show the number of swing votes in South Chungcheong Province come to between 30 and 65 percent, the largest among the nation's 16 key election battlegrounds and many were swayed by the Park Geun-hye attack. In other words, the "progressive" parties ALL lost support from the voters, while the conservative GNP gained 2.6 percentage points. A week away from the 31 May elections, it was starting to look like a GNP sweep.
  
  The 31 May local elections decided nine provincial governors, seven mayors of independent cities, 230 heads of small cities/counties/wards, 733 members of province/metropolitan city councils, and 2,888 members of small city/county/ward councils. Across the country, over two-thirds of the 230 low-level administrative leadership posts went to the GNP, 155 in stark contrast to the Uri's humiliating 19. The DP took 20 posts, mostly from Jeolla provinces, while the People First Party won seven in South Cheongchung Province. The progressive Democratic Labor Party was sidelined as the remaining 29 posts went to independent candidates.
  
  The GNP swept the Seoul elections and left local bodies, both executive and legislative, devoid of Uri representation in Seoul. In addition to winning the mayor's post, the GNP clinched all 25 ward headships and 96 city council seats up for grabs. Six out of 10 council seats that were reserved for proportional representatives also went to the GNP. The ruling Uri Party only managed two seats by proportional representation, while the Democratic Party and Democratic Labor Party each got a seat.
  
  In Gyeonggi Province, the GNP now controls the provincial governor's office, 27 of the 31 low-level leadership posts for small cities, counties and wards, and 115 seats in the 118-member provincial legislature. Across the country, the GNP's capture of administrative posts and council seats was overwhelming, so much so that some expressed concern that the democratic principle of checks and balances could be undermined by a one-party rule. Among the 16 regional top posts, the main opposition GNP snatched 12 including Daejeon while the Uri took only one, North Jeolla Province. The Daejeon mayoral race was one of the tightest races along with a gubernatorial race in Jeju. In Daejeon, the GNP's Park Seoung-hyo defeated Uri's Yeum Hong-cheol by 43.8 percent to 41.1 percent. Voters on the southern island of Jeju chose independent Kim Tae-hwan (incumbent governor who resigned from the GNP) over GNP's Hyun Myung-kwan as governor by a razor-thin margin of only 0.4 percentage points. The vote share in the nationwide local elections showed the GNP on 51.3 percent, Uri on 26 percent, and the DP on 22.3 percent. Turnout was estimated at 51.6 percent - up 2.7 points from 2002. (Source: Korea Herald.)
  
  The GNP victory propelled Park Geun-hye's star back up into the forefront as a potential presidential candidate for her party. She was to resign from the party chairmanship on 16 June to pave the way for her potential campaign for the presidential nomination of her party. After Park Geun-hye had stepped down as Chairman, she was replaced by Kang Jae-sup. Although Park Geun-hye, former chairwoman, won the competition for the "supreme manager" of the presidential candidate race, the committee, whose role is to check and balance, was still left to be constituted. A "proxy" battle ensued with Lee Jae-oh, GNP supreme council member and Floor Leader, who complained of the fairness of the presidential candidate race. Lee argued, "There was a structural limit to a fair party convention as one person had been controlling the party and the supporters in charge of the central party and local branches for a long time. We first need to constitute a fair competition committee with those we can trust." His underlying intention is to transfer the authority of presidential candidate race management to the committee -- instead of Park Geun-hye. It means that the "rules of game," including how to organize the electoral group, can be changed through the fair competition committee. According to the current party rules, the electoral group is constituted with 20 percent delegates, 30 percent party members, 30 percent general people, and 20 percent poll results. The ratio of party members and general people is half and half. Kang Jae-sup argued it was not the right time to change the rules and viewed a change in the constitution of the party was needed instead.
  
  In July 2006 after a "scandal" where GNP politicians played golf or had drinking parties in the area of massive flooding, the GNP on 24 Jul ousted a party official who was involved in a golf scandal that hurt the camp ahead of this parliamentary by-elections. The party's ethics committee dismissed Hong Mun-jong, chief of the GNP's Gyeonggi Province chapter, along with suspending membership of six other members, who played golf with local businessmen in Gwangwon Province, an area that was severely hit by rainfall. The decision was seen as a desperate attempt by the party to reverse its falling approval ratings which dipped by 10 percent after the golf incident was made known. In the parliamentary by-elections, the GNP scooped up victories in three of the four regions with the DP taking one seat. The by-elections took place in Songpa-gu and Songbuk-gu, both in Seoul; Puchon in Kyonggi Province; and Masan in South Kyongsang Province. On 27 July the Uri Party again was humbled by not taking a single seat. After yesterday's voting, the Grand Nationals controlled at least 126 seats in the Assembly to Uri's 142. Neither has a majority in the 299-seat Assembly. However, the biggest let-down was that less than 25 percent of the voters showed up. (SITE NOTE: It was almost poetic justice that the GNP were in trouble over a golf scandal after they themselves got rid of Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan for his golf scandal -- though Lee's real problem was with the disreputable company he kept rather than the date he was playing on. But the Uri Party is not without a "golf scandal" mud. According to reports, Rep. Kim Hyuk-kyu, a supreme councilor of the Uri Party, Chung Sye-kyun, minister of commerce, industry and energy, and Kim Tae-rang, secretary general of the National Assembly, played golf on 28 July (while the rain was at its worst in Kangwon-do and Gyeonggi-do) with a group of eight journalists covering the governing party at a resort in North Chungchong Province. The public was outraged.)
  
  In Feb 2007, the Uri Party's popularity ratings plummeted to around 10 percent amid discontent over the government's reform initiatives and economic policies. The GNP is enjoying over 40 percent in approval ratings. On 6 Feb, 23 Uri lawmakers bolted from the ruling camp to form a new party giving the GNP the majority of seats in the 296-member National Assembly. Any group with more than 20 lawmakers can register with the National Assembly as a parliamentary faction. The legislators quit the ruling Uri Party to form a new parliamentary faction and creating a new structure in the National Assembly with two government sides. Accordingly, this new structure is expected to radically change the two-party structure within the National Assembly and directly impact the presidential race currently led by the GNP candidates. This is the first time in 19 years, after the 13th General Elections in 1988 resulted in the four-party ruling system, for the National Assembly to have a multi-party structure by the standard of floor negotiation group (20 seats). The GNP slammed the defections as "runaway lawmakers" -- whose only justification appeared to be that they wanted to distance themselves from Roh Moo-hyun.
  
  In Mar 2007, former Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak enjoyed a commanding lead with an approval rating of more than 40 percent, staying ahead of his rival Park Geun-hye, a former GNP chairwoman, by more than 20 percentage points. Sohn received less than 10 percent -- but in mid-Mar he resigned from the GNP and appeared to shift to the newly established Progress Korea party made up of activists. The GNP nomination primary is scheduled to be held in Aug 2007.
  
  On 30 May 2007 the Supreme Court nullified an appeals court conviction of GNP lawmaker Kim Byuong-ho for receiving illegal political funds, but found him guilty of violating the election law. The case was sent back to the Busan High Court for retrial. Whether or not Kim will be able to retain his National Assembly seat will depend on the high court’s retrial decision. A lawmaker receiving a jail term or fined more than 1 million won ($1,079) loses his seat. Kim, 64, representing Busan, had been indicted on charges of receiving 31 million won worth of gifts and cash from August 2004 to September 2005 from Ahn Yeong-il, former head of the Busan Jin District office. Kim was found not guilty in an initial trial, but the high court fined him 5 million won. “The accused received the money and gifts from a candidate seeking the Grand National nomination before the local election,” the court said. The court, however, said there is no evidence to judge if the bribes were given in return for political influence.
  
  Another GNP lawmaker, Lee Sung-kweun, was acquitted in a separate Supreme Court trial on 30 May 2007. Upholding a lower court acquittal, the Supreme Court said Lee was not guilty of receiving 16 million won in bribes.
  
  In June 2007, with Lee Myung-bak refusing to accept Park Geun-hye's demands for Lee to withdraw his pledge for a cross-country canal, which is a key plank in his campaign platform, debate over the proposed canal was heating up. The Park faction states that such a cross-country canal is not needed and it would take 60-70 hours for cargo to travel from Seoul to Pusan. The Lee faction states it would take 24 hours and would greatly enhance the economy.
  
  

• PEOPLE FIRST PARTY

  The People First Party (PFP) launched on 17 Jan 2006 as an alternative to the Uri and GNP -- claiming to be independent legislators. The PFP was viewed at the party for Goh Kun in his presidential bid, though the DP was attempting to woo him to their party. The party denounced all other major political parties, especially the ruling Uri Party and the conservative GNP, in an apparent bid to distinguish itself from the other political groups. The party was to nominate its own candidates for the local elections slated for May 31 without forming a partnership with the other political parties. In the 31 May local elections, the PFP was shutout as the GNP garnered all of the positions in the former ULD strongholds. Winning just seven local administrative posts in the Chungchong region, the PFP failed to secure a single seat of the 16 gubernatorial or mayoral posts up for grabs, not even in the Chungchong provinces, its home turf. As a result of the poor showing, the chairman of the PFP resigned on 2 June 2006.
  
  

• DEMOCRATIC LABOR PARTY (DLP)

  The DLP was founded in 2000 to advocate workers rights and social equality. Until 2004, when it won 10 parliamentary seats, the DLP had been largely dismissed as a radical party for activists and university students. The DLP was further inspired to expand its political clout since it succeeded in entering the National Assembly for the first time after general elections in 2004. The DLP garnered 10 seats in the backlash vote following the fiasco dealing with the impeachment of President Roh. One of the seats was lost due to violations of the election campaigning law.
  
  The DLP is largely composed of two factions _ one calling for democracy, the other for national liberation _ composed of former and current activists that led South Korea's student, labor and other social movements in the past decades. Until 2004, when it won 10 parliamentary seats in the voter reverse-reaction to Roh Moo-hyun's impeachment, the DLP had been largely dismissed as a radical party for activists and university students. The DLP was further inspired to expand its political clout since it succeeded in entering the National Assembly for the first time after general elections in 2004. One of the seats was lost due to violations of the election campaigning law. The party, which holds 10 seats in the 299-member National Assembly, has been backing the Roh Moo-hyun administration's engagement policy with North Korea, and blames the United States for raising tension on the Korean Peninsula. The DLP came under fire from leftists last month, as it failed to issue a statement expressing a clear objection to North Korea's nuclear test on Oct. 9. While one faction is critical of the Stalinist regime in the North, the dominant faction is reluctant to criticize North Korea. The DLP has joined with the Uri Party to railroad bills through the National Assembly in 2005. The DLP's losses on its home turf Ulsan in 2006, where the party had expected to sweep ward office headships, further dismayed the leftist-wing camp. The recent losses of Uri and DLP seem to reflect a reversal in ideological trends, disfavoring progressive camps, analysts said.
  
  The 26 Oct 2005 by-elections dealt a blow to the DLP as it lost the Ulsan constituency, a political stronghold of the party. The DLP has joined with the Uri Party to railroad bills through the National Assembly in 2005. The contentious non-regular workers bill is going to be the top priority for the progressive Democratic Labor Party (DLP) ahead of the local elections. The DLP has strongly opposed the government's plan to allow companies to hire short-term contract workers for over three years, claiming that the three-year condition would significantly increase the number of non-regular workers and aggravate overall job security.
  
  As forecast, the Uri was soundly trounced in the May elections, but the DLP also saw itself rejected as well. The DLP secured no gubernatorial or mayoral posts and less than 200 local council seats. The liberal party received 11.9 percent of votes nationwide, far lower than its goal of 15 percent. The figure is lower than the 13.1 percent it received in polls during general elections in 2004. The DLP's losses on its home turf Ulsan, where the party had expected to sweep ward office headships, further dismayed the leftist-wing camp. The recent losses of Uri and DLP seem to reflect a reversal in ideological trends, disfavoring progressive camps, analysts said.
  
  In Oct 2006, it was widely discredited with a former member of the DLP Central Committee Lee Jung-hoon and DLP vice secretary general Choi Ki-young were arrested for allegedly being part of a North Korean espionage ring Ilsimhoe, a DPRK espionage network that sought to unify the fifth column elements. It was announced that the DLP had joined forces with the Uri Party to attempt to prevent the GNP candidate for the mayor of Seoul from winning -- which it didn't as both parties failed to garner voter support. The party claimed the arrests were a fabrication to discredit the party. Except for the leader of Ilsimhoe, Michael Jang (Jang Min-hoe), a Korean-American, the four other members of the charged with espionage were DLP members. In Apr 2007, all DLP members were sentenced to prison terms for spying for North Korea further damaging its image.
  
  When the leaders of the DLP left for North Korea in late 2006 -- despite the nuclear test of 9 Oct 2006 -- and visited the cemetary site of Kim Il-Sung without permission of the ROK government, the populace started to wonder about the DLP's true purposes.
  
  

• UNITED LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY (ULD) (CHANGED NAME TO DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN 2007)

  Rhee In-je won the party nomination. Rhee In-je is old guard who ran against Kim Dae-jung in 1997 for the presidency. Knowing he has no chance, he stated he would pursue an alliance between the two other progressive candicates, Chung Dong-young and Moon Kook-hyun, in mid-November. Political observers, however, say that the DP nominee will have little chance to win the Dec. 19 election unless he joins hands with other parties, especially the United New Democratic Party (UNDP). Rep. Chough Soon-hyung, who dropped out of the primary race on Sept. 30, filed an injunction with authorities to suspend the race, claiming Rhee conducted illegal campaigning. Rhee passed the state-run bar exam in 1979 and served as a judge in Daejeon. He started his political career when he was elected to the 13th National Assembly in 1988. He also served as labor minister in 1993 and Gyeonggi governor in 1996. He unsuccessfully ran in the presidential election in 1997. Rhee deserted the now-defunct Millennium Democratic Party in 2002 after he lost in its nomination race to Roh Moo-hyun who was elected president. Then, he joined hands with Lee Hoi-chang, presidential nominee of the Grand National Party (GNP) who was defeated by Roh in the presidential poll in December 2002. The lawmaker was suspected of accepting 250 million won from the GNP before the 2002 election in return for expressing support for the GNP presidential candidate. Representative Rhee, on his part, denied the allegations.
  
  

• GOH KUN'S NEW PARTY (UNNAMED): DIED WHEN GOH WITHDREW FROM RACE

  In Oct 2006, Goh Kun announced that he would form a new moderate party, but the specifics were not announced. The former prime minister and Seoul mayor said he would start to build his party in Dec, after the current National Assembly session closes. He said firmly that he was "not interested" in joining forces with President Roh Moo-hyun's Uri Party or with the Democratic Party, the remnant of a party from which dissidents bolted to form Uri in 2003. His new party, he said, would be an alternative to Uri, and would be "middle-of-the-road pragmatist." He said it would be open to all but the political fringes on the left and right.
  
  When Goh withdrew from the race in 2007, the dreams of a new party evaporated.
  
  

• PROGRESS KOREA PARTY

  Established in Mar 2007 as a moderate reform party. Made up of some 100 former student activists, the new political group is co-chaired by Kim Yoon, the head of a forum on the Korean economy and globalization, Choi Pae-kun, a professor at Kyungpook National University and Kim Yoo-shik, the owner of online community Digital Inside. An official with the group said it will establish a nationwide organization by September and select a presidential candidate as a formal political party.
  
  The party expressed hope that Sohn Hak-kyu, the Grand National party's third-placed contender, would decide to leave the GNP. Sohn attended the establishment ceremony despite opposition from his aides and wrote his own speech for it. At the ceremony, Sohn reiterated the need for a new political force. “We long for the emergence of a new political order. It is not just necessary but inevitable, and we should prepare for its arrival,” he said. It was the first time Sohn has explicitly referred to the emergence of a new political force. Political insiders interpret the remarks as a first step toward dropping out of the GNP primaries and leaving the party. There was speculation that Sohn would boycott the GNP primaries and quit the party to strike out on his own. With no hope of winning the GNP nomination, Sohn did break with the GNP and became an independent -- though sending out feelers for invitations to other parties.
  
  

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