Lee Camp, Experienced Lawmakers at the Forefront

Lee Myung-bak, former Seoul City mayor and presidential candidate of the Grand National Party, transformed his camp to prepare for the upcoming primary by launching the Election Planning Committee (EPC) on Thursday.

Park Hee-tae, former vice-speaker of the National Assembly and lawmaker serving his fifth term, was named as the chairman of the committee. Of the appointed ten vice-chairmen, eight are lawmakers serving for a third time- Lee Jae-chang, Kim Gwang-won, Gwon Cheol-hyun, Ahn Taek-soo, Lee Yoon-seong, Jeong Eui-hwa, Lim In-bae, and Gwon O-eul.

Former Jeonnam Province governor Jeon Seok-hong and former chairman of the Party Policy Committee Jeon Jae-hee were named in consideration of factors like region and gender (women).

Lawmaker Gwon Cheol-hyun was designated as the head of special assistants, lawmaker Joo Ho-young and Lee Seong-gwon were appointed as the chief of staff and the chief of suite respectively to assist candidate Lee. Bae Yong-soo, a former head of the National Assembly Library, was named as the head of the public information team.

Baek Seong-un, former Gyeonggi Province vice-governor for Administrative Affairs and lawmaker Lee Jae-chang were appointed as the chief of the comprehensive administrative team controlling the conditions of the primary and the chief of the Policy Advisory Committee in charge of developing promises and advice respectively.

Experienced legislators and outside experts were named as the heads of different committees, and first-elected lawmakers were appointed as directors. The committees include the Media Committee, the Planning Committee, the Media and Public Relations Committee, and the External Relations Committee.

The top GNP member Lee Jae-oh, who could be senior in the camp, was not on the list. Park Hyeong-joon, the EPC spokesperson, said, “Lawmaker Lee said it is not appropriate to have a position in the camp since he is a top party member; and, subsequently, former Seoul City mayor Lee accepted this.”

Some in the camp say, “As slots are distributed to the lawmakers who support Lee, inefficient management is likely.”

Commission chairman Park Hee-tae said, “I organized the camp by considering factors such as competency and region among those with good reputations. We will make the primary a place where candidates can show their merits without any mudslinging.”

“GNP leader Gang Jae-seop said that the Election Planning Committee of former mayor Lee’s camp includes many party members. They should be either committed to the party or resign and work for the committee,” said Park Jae-wan, the party chief of staff.

“No project can be successful by destructing the environment and going against the public opinion in a democracy. Even though both the ruling and opposition parties are against the Great Canal Project, I have hope,” said Candidate Lee at the meeting of the party member council, held in the hall of the Jeju Agriculture Research and Extension Service.

Lee criticized the administration’s decision to reduce the number of reporters’ rooms, saying, “That can only be seen in underdeveloped dictatorial regime. The government has a responsibility to offer necessary information for the people’s right to know. If it is blocked, it is not a democracy.”

ditto@donga.com