Liberal Party Mulls Election Candidates

“I will sort out additional candidates with problems,” said Chairman In Myeong-jin of Grand National Party`s Ethics Committee on Tuesday, who wanted to review two nominated candidates for the upcoming National Assembly elections.

The GNP tried to select candidates for Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, its home territory, but failed to reach an agreement after discussions on the scope changes in the number of incumbent lawmakers led to a breakdown in talks. The party aims to enhance its image by making wide-scale changes of the incumbent lawmakers in the party’s home territory.

○ “I Want to Review Three More Candidates”: Chairman In

“We are screening out some problematic candidates nominated by the party’s nomination screening committee based on various reports,” said the committee chairman in a telephone interview Tuesday. “As soon as the process is complete, we plan to hand over the list to the party leadership and the screening committee within the week.”

He added, “Now, three candidates are considered problematic, but they are not the ones who were disciplined by the ethics committee. Those who changed their party after working in the previous administration or those with ethical problems will be included.”

“It is openly said that former ministers and lawmakers of the Kim Dae-jung administration were selected as party candidates just because they attended the same church or the same school [as the current president],” the committee leader said in a radio interview. “Politics has moral principles because people are involved. Does it ever make sense to leave one’s party and come to the GNP because their party is now in trouble?”

He said, “Migratory politicians are not humans but birds. The party is choosing birds.”

Chairman Lee added, “If the party selects such people, it will be in trouble. From the start of the Lee Myung-bak administration, the GNP’s approval rating has dropped significantly due to problems in forming the Cabinet. We must select new and moral people to secure the majority of the seats in the National Assembly.”

His remarks were aimed at Jeong Deok-gu, who was nominated for Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province. Jeong also served as commerce minister under the Kim Dae-jung administration, and was a lawmaker of the then ruling Uri Party thanks to the proportional representation system under the Roh Moo-hyun administration. Last February, he resigned and became a professor.

Jeong said he quietly applied for the nomination, and when this reporter revealed the story, he implied that he could repeal his application, saying, “When this is made public, I can still change my mind.”

The GNP screening committee decided Jeong to be a candidate, but as the GNP Supreme Council has not yet confirmed it, he can be subject to review, if Chairman In officially considers the issue problematic.

○ Backlash from Incumbent Lawmakers in Party’s Home Turf

The GNP began screening lawmaker-hopefuls in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province Tuesday but failed to announce a finalized list.

GNP lawmaker Jeong Jong-bok, a senior member of the Screening Committee, said, in a briefing after the meeting, “We have reduced the number of candidates. We have not decided the final candidates.”

He explained that incumbent lawmakers in the region have not yet been removed from the list.

“After screening candidates in Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province on Wednesday, we will announce the list of nominees of the southern regions altogether this weekend,” said Jeong. “We will also unveil the nominees for Seoul and the metropolitan area, which have not yet been decided, this weekend.”

He added, “We will select final nominees after a (electibility) poll in some areas of the southern regions.”

In Tuesday’s screening process, screening committee members sharply disputed the scope of the change in the number of incumbent lawmakers. In particular, Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province have many lawmakers friendly to Park Geun-hye, the party’s former leader. Their backlash has been strong since some of them were said to have been targeted for removal.

The GNP will make an announcement to register for proportional representation seats on Mar. 6-9 and receive applications on Mar. 10 and 11. These candidates will be decided by the end of March.

sunshade@donga.com