17 MDP Lawmakers Ready to Defect from MDP Next Week

Political realignment seems to be in full swing. The council for unification of president candidates in the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) had a meeting on Oct. 15 and decided to defect the party collectively following the Oct. 14 defection of Rep. Jeon Yong-hak of the MDP and Rep. Lee Wan-ku of the United Liberal Democrat (ULD) to join the Grand National Party (GNP).

The GNP presidential nominee Lee Hoi-chang said at a party ceremony to establish the party’s presidential campaign committee on Jeju Island, hinted at additional recruitment of lawmakers from other camps saying, ˝We cannot reject entry into our party by lawmakers who agree on the GNP platform and policies. We are not going to engage in political regrouping intentionally, but we can join hands with those who want to participate in national reform movement.˝ Against this backdrop it is said that one or two MDP lawmakers and two or three ULD lawmakers are highly likely to defect from their parties to go into the GNP.

Meanwhile, 17 members of the council for unification of president candidates, a group of MDP lawmakers who do not aggressively support its presidential candidate Rho Moo-hyun or are against him, agreed on the collective defection at the meeting. To form a floor negotiation group, they decided to desert their party before the end of next week and tender written report of defection to Rep. Choi Myung-hun or Rep. Kim Won-gil, co-leaders of the council.

A lawmaker with the council said, ˝First, lawmakers from local constituencies will secede from the party mid-next week and lawmakers from the national constituency will follow suit. The defection procedure is gaining momentum.˝

It is reported that some MDP lawmakers from the metropolitan area surrounding Seoul, not those 17, are trying to bolt form the MDP individually. Also, seven MDP party members leading the party`s regional branch offices held a press conference on the morning of Oct. 15, in which they announced that they would defect and join independent presidential bidder Chung Mong-joon`s envisioned new party. On the same day Rep. Chung`s camp withdrew from his past position of selective recruitment and set out to contact GNP lawmakers person to person to recruit them.

At a news conference on the same day, the MDP presidential nominee Rho Moo-hyun criticized that Lee Hoi-chang, who should be a role model for young politicians, is showing political behaviors of three Kim’s. He added, ˝There will be a strict judgment by the public.˝

Meanwhile, the MDP adopted a resolution denouncing the GNP at its general meeting, and rejected the scheduled interpellation to the economy section, causing the crippling National Assembly for the second consecutive day.

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