As stated at the Korea Liberator last night, Park Geun-hye’s man won the election to replace her as Grand National Party chairman at the GNP convention yesterday:
In what had been seen ― or manipulated to be seen ― as a proxy contest between two party presidential contenders, Kang Jae-sup was elected the new chairman of the Grand National Party yesterday.
Mr. Kang, with a reputation as a dyed-in-the-wool conservative, will be in the chair during next year’s presidential election, barring a disaster for the party in legislative by-elections later this month. His two-year term would also extend through the 2008 elections for a new National Assembly unless election setbacks, scandals or other mishaps intervene to force his resignation.
Mr. Kang declared his solidarity with Park Geun-hye, the outgoing party leader who resigned to make a bid for the presidency next year. He had painted Lee Jae-oh, his chief rival and runner-up in the balloting, as a supporter of Lee Myung-bak, the former mayor of Seoul and another strong presidential contender. Although Mr. Lee had denied being a stalking horse for anyone, Mr. Kang’s embrace of Ms. Park was enough to overcome Lee Jae-oh’s earlier lead in party and public sentiment. Mr. Lee was the party’s floor leader in the Assembly; he resigned last month.
Mr. Kang won by 931 votes out of 7,588 cast, including votes allocated to reflect the results of public opinion polls.
Kang’s election means that it is unlikely that GNP nomination rules will be changed to create a more open process. Lee Myung-bak has called for a primary system (like those used by the Uri party and the two major parties in the United States) in the past in the hope that he can overcome Park’s support among party leaders.
It would be better for the GNP for Lee to get his wish. It is one thing to lose in a primary fight, another to be shut out of the process by party leaders. Not giving Lee a legitimate shot at the party’s nomination increases the chance that he will bolt the party and run as an independent. Can you say ‘President Goh’ boys and girls?
Also, I think that Park would most likely win in any GNP primaries. While Lee has retaken the lead in the Realmeter presidential poll, Park has a slight edge among GNP party members.
6 Comments
Between Lee Myongbak, Park Geunhye, or Goh Gun (is that how he spells it?), are there any who do not keenly see the need for an extreme makeover of US-ROK ties after the bout with acne and the botched plastic surgery that is the Roh-Chung administration?
there’s a saying in Korean that fits this situation quite nicely, given all things considered.
Ahm Tak ee ool myun, jip ahn ee mang han da.
When the hen starts roosting, it’s a sign this house will fall.
I deny that I am sexist. I deny it. It’s just that all things considered, she should have stepped aside for someone with less negatives and more positives. Even another woman would do instead of her.
Wjk,
You’re right. Park is the wrong person. She is even worse candidate than Lee HoiChang, who lost to Rho four years ago.
Park will lose to any candidate from the Uri party. There is a good chance that she will even lose to Chung “Ding” Dong Young.
Park has to answer for her father’s behavior. Why did he fix the constitution to run for the presidency for the third time? Do you think that is justified, Ms. Park? She will have no answer.
Hannara is more stupid than Uri if the party selects Ms. Park for presidential candidate. Goh Gun will be elected as next president coming in as the Uri-Jolla Coalition candidate and keep Sunshine policy going, eventually selling Korea out to China.
While I agree Park would not be a good candidate - much less a good president - I wonder if she must bear the sins of the father.
Park has proven a much more adroit politician than many - including those within the Hannara-dang - expected four years ago. But the largest instiution she has ever administered has been a private univesity in Daegu. Yes, she has shown exceptional leadership of her party, but that is not enough for her to be a credible candidate for President. I think she could be an exceptionally wonderful president if she first put in a stint as an activist prime minister under Pres. Lee Myung-bak. However, it is starting to look like that scenario is doubtful. Korean politics is personality centric and once backers and hangers-on get behind a candidate, the party’s welfare is forgotten in the process. I even suspect even if Ms Park wanted to hold back for another term, it would be almost impossible for her to do so as her power-hungry backers propell her forward. The scary thing is Baduk could be right on the money should the current trend continue up to election day. I have drawn similar conclusions weeks ago.
As I said before, I pick Goh Kun as winning and he will not be a promoter of that sunshine nonsense either.