Donga Ilbo Surveyed MDP Lawmakers

Donga Ilbo surveyed 73 out of 112 lawmakers in the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP). Donga Ilbo failed to contact the remaining 39 lawmakers, who showed a similar distribution in terms of mainstreamers, non-mainstreamers and moderates to respondents.

▽ Should MDP hold a primary election again after the by-elections?

46.6% or 34 lawmakers saw it unnecessary to hold a primary election again proposed by Roh Moo-hyun, the MDP presidential candidate. 26% or 19 lawmakers expressed their reservation and 17.8% or 13 lawmakers said yes. 9.6% or 7 lawmakers said that Roh should step down. As witness the result of the survey, less than half of respondents think that the party should rally behind Roh. This indicates that the biggest challenge ahead for the MDP and Roh is to secure a strong leadership. But the result of the by-elections will have a great impact on whether the party will hold a primary election again or not as a number of lawmakers expressed their reservation.

▽ Should the MDP create a new party?

45% or 33 respondents expressed skepticism over creating a new party while 26% or 19 lawmakers found it necessary. 11% or 8 lawmakers said the party should be given a new name. Another 11% said it depended on situation.

Those who were skeptical raised a question about the possibility to establish a new party. Asked who could be an alternative to Roh, only one lawmaker cited Chung Mong-jun and other lawmakers declined to answer.

▽ Does the MDP need to alienate from President Kim?

65.8% or 48 lawmakers said yes. Only 27.4% or 20 lawmakers found it unnecessary. A large number of lawmakers hailing from the Honam region, which is President Kim`s stronghold, acknowledged the necessity to alienate from President Kim. So internal disputes are expected to accelerate over the departure of Rep. Kim Hong-il, President Kim`s first son and the dissolution of the Peace Foundation for the Asia-Pacific Region.

▽ Was it a right decision to give a vote of confidence to Roh and the party leadership?

52.1% or 38 lawmakers said yes while 27.4% or 20 lawmakers said no.

What is noticeable is that 16.4% or 12 lawmakers said that the party leadership should have stepped down. They said that it was inevitable to give a vote of confidence to Roh, but the leadership and party chairman Han should have taken responsibility. It shows that they are on the same boat but have different view on Roh and Han.

Young-Chan Yoon Yong-Gwan Jung yyc11@donga.com yongari@donga.com