Party primary should be a competition of vision

Rep. Chung Mong-joon, former chairman of the ruling Saenuri Party, declared his candidacy for president Sunday, the second party member to do so after Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Moon-soo. If fellow lawmaker Lee Jae-oh does the same next month as expected, the party’s faction rivaling that of front-runner Park Geun-hye will take full shape. In a news conference, Chung said, “I will write a new history by drawing on my experience in business and diplomacy and help the Republic of Korea become one.”

On key social issues including the widening income gap, Chung criticized politicians for “intensifying conflict by raising issues but not offering solutions” and “enticing the people with sweet talk.” His comments were a self-reflection of a politician criticizing the political circle for catering to the public without presenting proper policy visions. In the primary, Chung should present concrete alternatives with which to solve social issues.

When the party elected its presidential candidate in 2007, the focus was on “verification.” The top two contenders, Lee Myung-bak and Park, fought a fierce battle over suspicions over their respective pasts. The party even set up a verification committee. While such efforts added energy to the competition, the policies or visions of the candidates were put on the back burner.

When the party launched its emergency measures committee in late 2011 after a series of setbacks, it suffered a crisis of identity. The debate heated up when the committee attempted to delete terms reflecting conservative ideology from the party platform. Though Park stopped this attempt, a recurrence could erupt at any time. When emergency committee member Kim Jong-in led the debate over economic democratization, even party lawmakers close to Park complained that the debate was so “abstract” that they could not understand it. Party members also show big differences over North Korea policy and welfare strategy. A party should be an association of those sharing the same values. If competition over policy and vision is buried by factional rivalry, this will work against Saenuri in the December presidential election.

The process for nominating a presidential candidate is a chance to introduce a party’s members and vision to the electorate prior to the vote. Presenting a substantial vision for creating jobs is important. If the upcoming primary opens a new horizon by spurring a competition of vision, Saenuri should grab this opportunity to differentiate its primary from those of the opposition.

Just two Saenuri lawmakers attended Chung’s news conference for declaring his presidential bid, indicating the divide in party sentiment. But the pro-Park camp, the party’s biggest faction, should not act as if it has won the nomination race. A primary is a precious and meaningful process for electing a party’s presidential candidate who will take charge of an administration for five years. A fierce competition of vision among candidates is thus needed to enhance the party`s seriousness and popularity, thereby increasing the party’s competitiveness in the presidential election.