General Election Survival Game Harms Presidential Race

What is the fundamental cause for the unprecedented chaos in the situation surrounding the presidential election, including withdrawals from parties, the reversal of national promises, and power squabbles among candidates with only 16 days left to the deadline for the registration of candidates?

Criticisms are being raised that the clash among the interests of parties and factions aiming to expand influence in the general election in April next year, only four months from the presidential election, is leading to the disappearance of principles and common sense in the race for the presidential election.

Some in the Grand National Party (GNP) point out that the friction between GNP presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak and former chairwoman Park Geun-hye, which resulted in the party’s supreme representative Lee Jae-oh handing in his resignation on November 8, is a struggle for dominant influence over candidate nomination in the general election, which will unfold after the presidential election.

According to this argument, former chairwoman Park is worried that candidate Lee will not only monopolize the candidate nomination process after winning the presidential election, but also that he will drive out a large number of assemblymen in her side. She is demanding guarantees that this will not happen in exchange for aiding Lee.

On November 8, a person in candidate Lee’s camp said, “Former chairwoman Park is unable to withdraw from the party because she declared she would abide by the results of the competitive election, but she is holding her ground in order to take over the party after the general election.”

People in and out of the GNP are saying that candidate Lee has also missed chances to reconcile with former chairwoman Park because of strong voices warning him against offering her a position of power if candidate Lee’s side is to secure dominance within the party after the presidential election.

The general view in the political circles concerning the reason former GNP chairman Lee Hoi-chang withdrew from the GNP to run for president despite denunciations of insubordination is that he is laying the groundwork to secure a role in the general election after the presidential election. As long as he at least maintains second place in the presidential election polling, former GNP leader Lee will be able to emerge from the race and enter the general election at the helm of a second party.

Another reason why assemblyman Kim Han-gil and of the United New Democratic Party and chairman of the Democratic Party Park Sang-cheon met on November 7 to talk about a unification candidate was sentiment within the ruling circle that the separate efforts of UNDP candidate Chung Dong-young and Democratic Party candidate Rhee In-je would not be sufficient to generate influence in the general election next year, let alone a victory in the coming presidential election.

Another reason the unification of the ruling circle is urgently called for is because the UNDP, rashly established after the disbanding of the Uri Party, which was held responsible for failed national administration policies, will have little justification to exist in case it loses the presidential election and needs to embrace the pro-Roh Moo-hyun side which is likely to seek an independent path.

A core figure of the UNDP said, “The contradicting interests of assemblymen and their nervousness over the general election next year are resulting in insecurity and confusion.”

swpark@donga.com