Internal Feuding Threatens to
Disrupt Liberal Party Nomination

GNP presidential candidate Lee prepares for presidential election

The race to select the presidential candidate of the liberal United New Democratic Party (UNDP) is in disarray as rival contenders clashed over the alleged illegal mobilization of voters.
On the other hand, Grand National Party (GNP) presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak has announced a line-up for his election campaign committee in a run-up to the upcoming presidential election, slated for Dec. 19.
Supporters of the UNDP front-runner Chung Dong-young thwarted a police raid of his campaign headquarters on Oct. 8. Police investigators had a warrant to conduct the search as part of a probe into an identity theft by Chung's camp, who denounced President Roh Moo-hyun's loyalists'plot to defeat him.
Jung In-hun, a Seoul City councilor and a Chung supporter, was arrested on charges of having paid her son and his two colleagues in return for putting the names of more than 500 people, including President Roh, on the party's website as voters in the primary election held in August.
The Chung camp claimed that two rival contenders - ex-prime minister Lee Hae-chan and former Gyeonggi governor Sohn Hak-kyu - were attempting to scuttle the race since neither are serious contenders for the party's nomination.
The UNDP's Lee and Sohn ratcheted up the offensive against Chung. Rep. Woo Sang-ho, a supporter of Sohn, said, "Chung's camp should cooperate with an investigation into the alleged identity theft case, taking responsibility for causing the current situation."Lee Spokesman Kim Hyung-ju, said Chung should withdraw his candidacy because his camp was attempting to distort public opinion by obstructing a probe into the case.
In a related development, Lee and Sohn failed to show up during the joint electioneering session in the Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province area.
In sharp contrast, GNP presidential candidate Lee shifted into high gear in preparation for the upcoming presidential election.
A recent poll showed that GNP candidate Lee was leading the presidential race over any other presidential candidate by more than 40 percentage points.
The initial line-up for his electioneering committee selected by the GNP's Lee includes ex-GNP Chairperson Park Keun-hye as a standing adviser as well as GNP Chairman Kang Jae-sup, GNP floor leader Ahn Sang-soo and four outside figures as joint electioneering committee chairmen. The four outside recruits are former foreign minister Yoo Jong-ha in the foreign affairs and security field; ex-president of Pohang University of Science and Technology Park Chan-mo in the education and science/technology sector; Regen Biotech CEO Bae Eun-hee in the futuristic high-tech industry; and Prof. Kim Sung-I of Ewha Womans University in the social welfare sector.
Park Bum-hoon, president of Choong-Ang University, has been chosen as the chairman of the Culture and Arts Policy Committee. Other standing advisers selected were ex-Democratic Party Chairman Lee Ki-taek and ex-National Assembly speakers Kim Soo-hwan and Park Kwan-yong.
In the meantime, presidential hopeful Rhee In-jae of the minority Democratic Party (DP) took the lead in the primaries in Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province, following his victory in the primary in Seoul.
Rhee is likely to be his party's candidate as he has topped all primaries except the one in Jeju. His contender Chough Soon-hyung has quit the race.
Rhee received 1581 votes, accounting for 28.9 percent of the 5,476 valid votes in the Seoul primary held on October 7, defeating contender Kim Min-seok, who garnered 1,271 votes. nw

(left photo) Grand National Party presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak speaks his views on educational reform during a town meeting on Oct.5. He is also on an observation tour to a firm in the Masan free trade zone on the same day.