Lee Hoi-chang: I Will Confederate Autonomy for Local Governments

“Those politicians who speak of opportunistic populism have no right to speak of regime change.” Lee Hoi-chang, the former leader of the Grand National Party, has increased his criticism of the GNP and its presidential candidate, Lee Myung-bak.

Lee Hoi-chang said in a talk during the Daejeon New Right Forum, held in the Christian Assembly Hall in Jung-gu, Daejeon, “I am deeply skeptical about whether the GNP and its candidate, who command the greatest number of supporters in the nation, is honest, reliable and respectful of principle.” He continued to criticize Lee Myung-bak’s moral integrity, saying, “Making money is not the only way to success.”

The former party leader rebutted the argument that his candidacy would divide the conservatives, saying, “In the past, the GNP candidate’s approval ratings remained at 40 %. With my candidacy, the combined approval ratings for conservative candidates has surged to 60– 70 %. The conservative support base has expanded, not the other way around.”

Considering that this visit was his first to provinces other than Seoul since he declared his intention to run in the presidential election, he made a promise by saying, “ (if elected) I would ensure the autonomy of local governments which is tantamount to a confederate system, allocating administrative, budgetary and policing power to the local governments.”

Prior to the visit, Lee pledged during the ceremony marking the start of his presidential campaign, held at his office in Namdaemun-ro, Seoul, saying, “I will march toward victory. I will fight against those who taint moral integrity and faith, those who ridicule law and justice, and those leftists who desecrate the liberal democratic values.”

ditto@donga.com