Gunning for Top Job
Possible presidential contender unravels views on 2007 election
Chung Dong-young, a permanent advisor at Uri Party, said the problem of President Roh Moo-hyun bolting from the ruling party will disappear if he becomes head of the party. Chung, who accumulated government experience as the Minister of Unification, said President Roh's case is different from former president Kim Dae-jung, who resigned as president of the ruling party when he was president because he was forced to quit the party by party officials. Roh doesn't want to be a burden to the party to be frank. The single-term president cannot avoid facing clashes with the interest of the party and there are signs that the president has had trouble communicating with the party.
Chung, who is one of the hopefuls to run in the next presidential election in 2007, said he had no communication problems during his days as the Unification Minister, running for the nomination to become the party's presidential candidate in 2002, presidential election, the launch of the participatory government led by President Roh and the creation of the Uri Party. He said the President has huge love for the party, but the party has been blaming him and the government for every failed policy and therefore, he feels pain naturally.
The former unification minister said the President and the Prime Minister should consult on a cabinet shuffle and in turn the Prime Minister should have consultations with the ruling party because he is a former party official, so to speak. If he were elected chairman of the party, he would form a related organization for a future campaign. It would not be tied to the past, but an alliance for future progress. In 2007 presidential election, the Grand National Party, the new right, and entrenched conservatives would form an alliance and we should do likewise. Future power, peace force and democratic reform forces should rally around the Uri Party because it is going to be a decisive battle between old and new. On May 31 local elections, the three forces would try their strengths. He said he will gather top CEOs, NGOs, including citizens and social voluntary groups, from labor organizations, and professionals from every sector in the country and mobilize them to form an alliance. In order to carry out his plan, the party would have to be a top leader in the polls. He said the planned alliance would include the Democratic Party, the Democratic Labor Party and former prime minister Goh Kun, if he agrees with the policies of the ruling party. He was head of the election planning headquarters for the former prime minister when he ran for Seoul mayor and got elected. On the fall of his popularity in the polls to 5 to 8 percent range, he said, the salary of a worker depends on the performance of the company including its stock prices, and likewise, the rating of an individual party official cannot go high, when that of the party remains low. But he would accept the ratings humbly as reflecting people's cold judgment. He will work for the party further and in the process, people would reevaluate his sincerity and devotion. He lashed out at the Kim Keun-tae faction as separatists, who do harm to the party and therefore, they have no future. They have to turn their energy to fighting the opposition Grand National Party, closing the gap between the rich and poor and revitalizing the national economy to improve people's livelihood. He recalled when he was the party chairman in 2004, the party was on top of the polls. The party sustained a big loss last year as a result of a futile factional in-fighting over the future agenda of the party , hurting each other. Finally, the party crumbled making every one a loser, Chung said.
On the question of why should Chung run in 2007, he said the industrialization period, the first age is gone and so is the second period, the democratization age. The third period is now the period for leadership to unify the people and the country. He is a former anchorman at the MBC TV, therefore an expert communicator, after spending 18 years at the TV network. He said the country needs a leader who can work like a piece of sponge to soak up water and he knows what a leader should have in this age because he knows the problems. He said the biggest issue in 2007 would be the gap between the rich and poor. He said the country also needs peace. The national task is to turn unstable peace in the last half century into a peaceful structure and build a new cultural country. nw
Chung Dong-young,
a permanent advisor at the ruling Uri Party |