Lee's Lead Widens

Many supporters switch to Lee in polls after Goh folds political ambitions

Former Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak widened his lead over rivals in the polls taken after former Prime Minister Goh Kun dropped out of the presidential race citing health and other reasons on Jan. 16
The sudden withdrawal announcement surprised the country, especially the political circles. Goh's popularity in the polls has been sagging further lately particularly since North Korea's nuclear test in mid- October last year and it went further down after his verbal pot shots exchange with President Roh Moo-hyun in early December.
His close aides said he decided to hang up his gloves because of his deteriorating health caused by pneumonia, but political pundits said it was his sagging popularity in the polls that caused him to retire from politics.
President Roh, out of the blue, in early December, pointed a gun at Goh, with a degrading remark that his appointment of Goh as his Prime Minister at the outset of his term ended in failure because Goh failed to bring harmony between
the progress side of the political divide and the conservatives as he expected of him. This came as a shock to Goh and his followers, who thought that Goh did such a good job as acting president taking over from President Roh during his impeachment by the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court was deciding its legality for several months in 2003. Goh shot back at the president, it is up to the people who should decide. But polls showed following the spat that his popularity fell.
President Roh wanted to stop his party members attempting to bolt the party and gain his leadership of the party back. He also came up with the proposal to change the presidential term from the current five-year single term to a four-year term and reelection for another four-year term.
Polls show that 33.8 percent of Goh supporters have now switched to the former Seoul mayor, making him almost impossible for his rivals to catch up including former Grand National Party chairman Park Geun-hye. She got some support when Goh quit but
still her popularity in the polls is far below that for Lee at about 28 percent.
She and her aides came out with the issue of checking out every thing about potential candidates including their personal matters. The move obviously is aimed at hurting Lee's reputation by digging out dirt under him by checking out various rumors surrounding the potential Presidential candidate. Rumors include irregularities when Lee was Seoul Mayor, his military exemption, the true amount of his hidden assets somewhere, and his plan to build a canal from Seoul to Busan.
Lee and Park, along with other candidates in the opposition GNP have to go through the party convention to be its standard bearer. An argument has been brewing over the date of the party convention between the two camps. The Park's camp want the meeting held in June as scheduled, while the Lee's supporters want to delay it until September.
If the differences grow wider and bigger, political pundits would not rule out the break up of
the party and the formation of another conservative party by the candidate that lost the party nomination. The ruling Uri Party is counting on this development to increase its chances of retaining the presidency by the liberals, who are generally pro-North Korea and anti-U.S. in its political inclination.
But the ruling party is in a state of crisis. The less liberal wing of the party wanted to bolt from the party and set up a new party in a clean break from President Roh and his followers. They wanted to rally around former Prime Minister Goh under the flag of pan-ruling circles at the expense of Roh and his followers.
With Goh calling quits, however, the momentum to form a new party has slowed somewhat. But many of them still want to bolt the ruling party for a new party, espousing centrism in their political lineage and led by such figures as Reps. Chon Jyung-bae, an initiating member of the Uri Party and Rep. Yom Dong-yon, a former Presidential campaign strategist for President Roh.
At this point of time, the split of President Roh's leftist party is unavoidable and imminent, giving an enormous help to the conservative wing of the political divide led by the GNP. About 40 to 50 legislators of the ruling party are reportedly ready to quit the party in any day. nw

(photo from left) Former Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak.; Former GNP Chairman Park Geun-hye.; Former Prime Minister Goh Kun.
GNP presidential hopefuls at the party's New Year rally.