MJ Proposes Single Candidate through Dialogue

Rep. Chung Mong-jun of the National Unity 21 officially proposed Roh Moo-hyun of the Millennium Democratic Party(MDP) to field a single presidential candidate. But Roh said he would not accept Chung`s proposal, heralding an uphill battle for his efforts to form an alliance with Roh.

Chung said in a press conference yesterday that the public wants to see a single presidential candidate and he was willing to follow the public demand. Regarding the method to field a single presidential candidate, he said that there are many obstacles to primaries, thus a single presidential candidate should be fielded through dialogue between presidential runners.

In the meantime, Roh met with reporters and said“Set aside whether to accept Chung`s proposal to field a single candidate, there are huge policy differences between the two. Most of all, I cannot agree with Chung`s proposal to field a single candidate without primaries.”

One of Roh`s aides said, “Roh was selected by the public. Chung`s proposal is not aimed to field a single candidte. It is a political maneuver aimed to stop further slide in his popularity.”

Meanwhile, dissenters in Roh`s MDP discussed the timing of their defection from the party. Rep. Park Sang-gyu, one of the dissenters, said that they decided to quit the party on Nov. 4 and that it is not known how many lawmakers would quit the party and if they could form a parliamentary group independently.

Sung-Won Park Yong-Gwan Jung swpark@donga.com yongari@donga.com