Embark on Forming New Configuration in the Face of the General Election

With senior members of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) declaring that they will not run for the general election, and overall political changes prevailing in the Uri Party and the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP), a great transformation in the political sphere is expected to take a place.

In a press release, Rep. Jung Chang-hwa, five-time lawmaker of the GNP (Gunwi-Uiseong, Gyeongbuk), declared his retirement yesterday and gave up running for the election, saying, “I will close my ups and downs as a politician for 39 years.”

On the same day, Rep. Mok Yo-sang, a four-time lawmaker of the GNP (Dongducheon-Yangju, Gyeonggi) and Rep. Kim Dong-wook, a four-time lawmaker of the GNP (Tongyeong-Goseong, Gyeongnam) also gave up running for the election. Moreover, Rep. Lee Ju-yong, a first-term lawmaker (Changwoneul, Gyeongnam) is considering following their suits to run for the Gyeongnam provincial governor by-election, which is to be held on June 10.

Including them, the number of lawmakers of the GNP who gave up running for the election has reached 15.

Also, from the MDP, Chang Tae-wan of the national constituency gave up his position and said, “I will retire and the 16th National Assembly will be my last term.”

In addition, within the MDP, the demand for voluntary retirement of senior lawmakers, whose local constituencies is Jeolla Province, is prevalent.

Chang Sung-min, junior chairman, put pressure on those senior lawmakers in the central committee by saying, “The party will fail in the upcoming election if it does not take a revolutionary action in nominating candidates and thus, seniors, who have been enjoying such privileges, should resign voluntarily.”

In response, senior lawmakers refused, saying, “it is an old-fashioned idea to call for retirement according to ages and the number of elections.”

On the same day, the current chairmen of the MDP’s district chapters decided to resign on January 19 to enhance the impartiality of preliminary elections.

Also, in the Uri Party, as 20 lawmakers who are mostly reform-oriented and chairmen of the organizing committees of party’s district chapters are slated to hold a press conference today to stress the importance of political reform in parties, the move for political change is expected to gain significant momentum.

In particular, younger party members officially push for senior members, who were involved in corruption scandals, to exit the political scene. Related to such moves, sources said, “The Ethics Committee of the Party will embark on investigating relevant issues,” which insinuates the possibility of ruling out scandal-involved members in the process of nominating candidates.