Supposed Succession of Announcements by GNP Leading Representatives Resigning from Candidacy

Yang Jun-gyu, a six-time representative of the Grand National Party (GNP) in North Cheju-gun, Cheju, has publicly announced that he will not run for office in his district in the upcoming general election next August. In addition to Rep. Yang, it is known that there are many other leading representatives of the party who have resigned from the post as chairmen of the local constituencies or who are planning to announce that they are not running for office -- thus further advancing issues of a “shift in public nomination” within the party. Rep. Yang met with the press on December 7 and said, “At 11 a.m. on December 8, we, all 30 leading representatives of the party who have been elected more than three times, will meet at the VIP restaurant of the National Assembly and announce our stance on the issue.”

Regarding the issue, Rep. Yoo Heung-soo of Suyoung, Pusan said in a telephone interview with the reporter on the same day, “I am not planning on making an announcement tomorrow, but I am thinking about when is the proper time to do it” -- indicating many other representatives’ resignation from the candidacy.

Chairman Choi Byung-ryol spoke of the issue in a press conference while in the Seoul National University Hospital on December 7. “We’ll use methods in which the shift can make the public nomination fairer and open chances for the new runners so that candidates with less competence will fall out,” he said, emphasizing the bold shift in the party’s public nomination policies.

Also at the December 8 meeting, the leading representatives of the GNP will demand party reform, including renaming the party as an indication of re-creating the party. It is quite attention-drawing since it is the first time that the leading figures in the party will form a collective movement regarding party reform and issues of public nomination. One of the leading representatives who has been elected four times said, “We will discuss issues of abolishment of district chapters and city and province branches, reducing the number of employees of the city and province branches that currently affects 60 people, and putting the central party headquarter building and the training center for sale. Along with the discussion of changing the party’s name, we are also planning to hold a party convention two months after the general election to discuss power structure reform of the party, such as adopting a collective leadership system.”

Yeon-Wook Jung jyw11@donga.com