Whether President Joins New Party To Be Determined By Year End

President Roh Moo-hyun gave up his membership of the Millennium Democratic Party Monday.

President Roh Moo-hyun declared during Monday`s meeting of presidential secretaries and aides to quit the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) in a bid to head off further political offensives by the opposition, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Yoon Tai-young said. Roh will focus his attention on major state affairs affecting the economy and the everyday lives of the South Korean people, Yoon added.

˝President Roh made no specific comment on the possibility of joining the new party,˝ Yoon said, adding that Roh will stay clear of party affiliations until at least the end of the year when the ongoing National Assembly session is wound up. ˝President Roh may make a decision on whether to join the new party later that time,˝ he said.

Gaining ground within Chong Wa Dae are opinions that if the nation enters general elections with the president having no affiliated party, it will go against the principle of responsible politics. In light of the fact, President Roh is highly likely to join the new party led mostly by his supporters by the end of this year when the National Assembly session comes to an end or by February next year.

The government will no longer hold policy consultation meetings exclusively with the MDP and would instead hold similar policy coordination sessions with parties from across the political spectrum. Furthermore, President Roh will also have more opportunities to directly explain his policies to the people and the National Assembly.

In a related move, the presidential office for political affairs said that President Roh establish himself as a chief executive and distance himself from partisan interests. The presidential office made clear that Mr. Roh would strive to create a new political environment where an individual lawmaker`s opinion is respected.

Seo Gap-won, presidential secretary for 2nd political affairs submitted a letter of withdrawing the president`s MDP membership to the party on behalf of the president Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Grand National Party spokesman Park Jin maintained, ˝The president should join the new party as soon as possible because his non-party affiliation will lead to a more confusion in running state affairs and instability of the nation.˝

˝The president`s departure from the MDP is not only an unprecedented act of betrayal, but is a choice that will bring only chaos to state affairs,˝ said MDP spokesman Kim Sung-soon criticizing the president.

Meanwhile, Chung Dong-chae, public communication director of the newly-formed People`s Participatory United New Party, said that the president`s departure from the MDP seems an inevitable choice under the current situation. We hope that the president`s decision will lay the foundation for opening the era of bi-partisan politics, leading to the stability of state affairs.