By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
The new chairman of the governing Grand National Party (GNP) said Tuesday that his party will put priority on protective measures for working-class families and low-income earners.
Rep. Chung Mong-joon, who is also the largest shareholder of Hyundai Heavy Industries and one of the richest men in the country, made the remarks in an apparent attempt to wash off the GNP's image as a party for the wealthy.
Chung, 58, replaced Park Hee-tae, 71, who resigned to run in the Oct. 28 by-elections in the party's home turf of Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province.
During a news conference to mark his first day in office, Chung called for the ruling party to be a more responsive institution.
``There has been a rising demand for policy responses to improve the livelihood of working class families and underprivileged people and this requires the ruling party to respond,'' he said.
Previously, President Lee Myung-bak unveiled a set of measures to help vulnerable citizens.
Pollsters said President Lee's working-class-friendly measures helped him garner higher popularity in the latest polls. Support for Lee has risen to 40 percent or more.
The new GNP chairman is scheduled to meet President Lee today over breakfast.
Officials at Cheong Wa Dae said Lee set up the meeting with the new GNP leader, whose power base is weak, to encourage him to exert effective leadership.
Although popular among the public, Chung has few supporters inside the party as he joined it in November 2007, a month before the presidential election.
Lee expects Chung to play a role in facilitating the passage of bills pending in the National Assembly, which are crucial for Lee to push his reform drive forward, in the current parliamentary session, presidential office sources said.
Chung said he plans to propose that Lee have more frequent contact with GNP lawmakers in order to narrow differences over major issues.
Early in the morning, Chung started his first day in the GNP leadership by visiting a fishery market in Seoul.
He had conversations with merchants there, listening to their stories and views, and purchased some products with his own cash.
Asked how a rich man could sympathize with working-class families, Chung said he would make sincere efforts to understand the difficulties facing them. Chung is a son of the late Chung Ju-yung, founder of the Hyundai Group.
The main opposition Democratic Party said many people outside the ruling camp are concerned that Chung, who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, could not truly understand about the hardships facing ordinary citizens.
DP spokesman Woo Sang-ho said Chung should keep in mind ordinary people's concerns and try to make a difference for them.