Lee Hoi-chang Declares Election Run

Lee Hoi-chang, the former chairman of the Grand National Party who declared a retreat from politics after defeat in the 1997 and 2002 presidential elections, will withdraw from the GNP and run in the 2007 presidential election as an independent.

Lee ended a five-day trip yesterday and is slated to announce that he will run in the election at 2 p.m. today in the Danam building, Namdaemun, Seoul.

A special assistant to Lee said yesterday that, “Lee will make an announcement about how he changed his mind.”

Regarding the content of the press conference, the aide confirmed Lee’s run, saying, “I think returning to politics is a huge decision and the press has already written about it as an established fact. So it is impossible to deny.”

Meanwhile, after the press conference today, Lee Hoi-chang is scheduled to visit Seoul National Cemetery and offer flowers to a memorial to Unknown Warriors and graveyards of Korea’s first president Lee Seung-man and former president Park Jung-hee.

taylor55@donga.com