Rep. Cho Elected As MDP’s New Leader

Representative Cho Soon-hyung was elected as the new leader of the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) in a temporary general meeting of the party held at a stadium in Olympic Park in Songpa, Seoul on November 28.

Rep. Cho earned 3,119 votes out of a total of 5,025 votes, leaving his close rival, Rep. Choo, with 2,151 votes. Rep. Cho won the race by a difference of 968 votes.

As the MDP finished its reshuffling process by electing its new leader, the competition between the MDP and the newly formed Uri Party in a bid to acquire more seats at the next general election is expected to become even fiercer.

Following Rep. Choo, other candidates Kim Kyung-jae, Jang Jae-sik and Kim Young-hwan were selected standing central committee members earning 1,199, 1,150 and 888 votes, respectively.

The remaining three candidates, Lee Hyup, Kim Young-jin, and Jang Sung-min, failed in their bids to become standing committee members by only receiving 685, 581 and 277 votes, respectively.

In his acceptance speech, the newly elected Chairperson of the MDP’s standing committee said, “By displaying clean politics, I will try my best for the GNP to emerge as the top party of the Assembly by securing the most seats at the next election.”

He added, “I will also work hard to clarify allegations of President Roh’s receiving illegal money during the previous election. Only after eliminating any doubts about the allegations can we establish institutional mechanisms for new politics, and the MDP will play a leading role in that through the Special Committee for Political Reformation at the National Assembly.”

He also said, “To show national unified politics, I will open up the MDP’s door to let in various members to overcome the barriers based on region, age, sex, and generation.

He commented on principle policy lines, “I will focus on providing timely economic and social welfare benefits for the middle and lower income brackets while implementing peaceful policies for the reconciliation and cooperation between South Korea and North Korea as they have been a major policy line for the MDP.”

About President Roh, he said, “As a party that recommended and chose him as a president, I will continue to watch and check President Roh to make sure he is a president who fulfils his promises to the people.”

On this day, the MDP adopted the party platform which demands revision of the current presidency and basic policy revisions.

Sung-Won Park swpark@donga.com