Two GNP Presidential Hopefuls Enter Nomination Race

Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, two presidential candidates of the Grand National Party (GNP), officially declared their intention to participate in the party’s nomination race by registering their candidacies for the primary elections and promised, “We will accept the elections’ results” on June 11.

“I will dedicate myself to achieving a successful leadership change, and I will accept the current chaotic state as the historical duty and mandate given to me,” said former Seoul Mayor Lee in a news conference held in the party’s headquarters in Seoul.

Lee also emphasized, “The GNP should choose a leader who responds to the call of the time. The party needs a correct leader who can win the race, has the ability and initiative to overcome risks, and has accumulated experiences with great achievements and a future-oriented mindset and strong will.” Mr. Lee added, “The race will be fierce but should be recorded as a fair one. And the party should be united and not allow the Roh Moo-hyun administration to block our efforts for power change.”

In addition, the presidential hopeful proposed to form “a council for the advancement of Korea,” which includes New Rights, centralist conservatives, and insisted, “Conscientious, rational, future-oriented, realistic people be united to replace the incompetent and ideological powers with competent ones with good policies,” hinting that he can cooperate with some figures of the Millennium Democratic Party and People Fist Party.

Meanwhile, Lee critically responded to verification attacks by saying, “What’s painful is that someone within our party is absorbed in making negative campaigns. And irresponsible revelation is an unfair behavior against principles, apparently targeting Park Geun-hye’s camp. Besides, the former Seoul mayor promised, if he loses the game, to work together with the winner in the elections, and if he wins, to embrace other candidates and cooperate with them.”

In the meantime, Ms. Park said in a news conference, “I will make a great contribution to helping Korea overcome this crisis and making it into an advanced nation within five years with strong patriotism.” She also pledged to build a solid foundation for liberal democracy and market economy. With the foundation, she promised to make a fair society in which everyone is treated equally before the law and the president becomes a model to fully comply with laws.

Ms. Park specifically mentioned her campaign pledges: making Korea into an advanced nation which will be the envy of the world with the right vision and strategies for the 21st century: addressing problems related to private education by reviving public education: preventing poverty from passing on to next generations: resolving North Korean nuclear issue through effective policies with principles and laying a foundation for reunification.

Furthermore, she said that “I respect those who dedicated themselves to achieving industrialization during my father’s presidency and deeply appreciated them for their sacrifice and dedication. Moreover, the former GNP chairwoman apologized to people who experienced hard time and were forced to sacrifice themselves during her father’s reign. She also added, “I really want to make Korea a nation where all people become one.”

Meanwhile, Park emphasized, “It is natural for presidential candidates to go through verification, and we can say negative campaigns only when they have no solid evidence. The general public has the right to know,” in response to the recent controversy over verification. Also, Park responded to conceding election results that “A person refusing to accept has no qualification to be a politician and cannot be forgiven by the people.”

taylor55@donga.com