By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
In 2009, political bigwigs remained on opposite trajectories, when it came to their chances of being selected to run for the next presidency.
Those who leaped forward include Prime Minister Chung Un-chan, Chairman Chung Mong-joon of the governing Grand National Party (GNP), and independent lawmaker Chung Dong-young.
Meanwhile, those who suffered relative losses, compared to their rivals, were former GNP Chairwoman Park Geun-hye and DP Chairman Chung Sye-kyun.
Moon Kook-hyun lost his National Assembly seat, making him the politician who lost the most this year.
Park Geun-hye vs. 2 Chungs
Inside the ruling camp, a distinctive change was seen in the political landscape, which is expected to have an effect on the party's next presidential candidate.
Prime Minister Chung Un-chan and GNP Chairman Chung Mong-joon's stock is up, while that of former GNP Chairwoman Park Geun-hye has dropped.
Prime Minister Chung, former president of Seoul National University who had been a critic of President Lee Myung-bak, was called upon to assume the job of prime minister which is considered a springboard to the presidency.
Rep. Chung Mong-joon assumed the chairmanship in September, replacing Park Hee-tae. Park stepped down to run in the Oct. 29 by-election in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province and later returned to the Assembly after winning the race.
Political analysts said that Chung may seek to run in the 2012 presidential election on the GNP's ticket, if he wins the hearts and minds of mainstreamers, mostly supporters of President Lee.
They did not rule out the possibility of Chung winning the GNP primary, pointing out that on the pro-Lee side, there are few viable candidates who can defeat former GNP chairwoman Park.
With Chung expanding his influence inside the GNP, Park got through a relatively tough time as her stalwart support for the Sejong City project became a target of political attack.
The Prime Minister's Office is scheduled to unveil an alternative plan in January.
Given that about 50 lawmakers inside the GNP are considered supporters of Park, it will be difficult for the new plan to receive approval from parliament.
The former GNP head is key in determining the fate of the new plan.
But her opposition toward the polarizing project made her uneasy as her opponents launched criticism, saying she was responsible for the division of the ruling party over the project.
The Sejong City controversy confirmed that she still has political clout, but at the same time it testified that she gained nothing while her rival Chung got more and more endorsements.
The Office of the Prime Minister launched a 23-member ad-hoc committee composed of senior government officials and experts from the private sector to map out plans to transform Sejong City into an industrial complex.
The move came as opposition parties sought to create a united front to thwart the amendment.
Chung vs. Chung
On the main opposition Democratic Party (DP)'s side, two Chungs who are vying for the leadership of the liberals are faced with different propositions.
DP Chairman Chung Sye-kyun is under fire as he was allegedly involved in a graft scandal in 2006 when he was serving as minister of commerce, industry and energy under the previous administration.
Before the embarrassing incident, the DP leader experienced a heyday as his party achieved a winning streak in two previous by-elections and the DP's popularity began to rebound.
Support for the DP hit the highest in four years after the death of the former President Roh Moo-hyun in May.
But the scandal allegedly involving Chung put the DP leader in trouble.
Former Unification Minister Chung Dong-young returned to the National Assembly as a lawmaker after winning the April 29 by-election in a North Jeolla district, his home turf, as an independent.
Chung Dong-young, who also ran unsuccessfully in the presidential election in 2007, tried to rejoin the DP, but DP Chairman Chung refused to accept the former unification minster as a member.
Political analysts are waiting to see if the graft scandal will have an effect on the former unification minister's rejoining the DP to run as the next liberal leader.
Mainstreamers within the DP have opposed the return of Chung Dong-young to the party for having damaged it in the by-election.
Discord between the two Chungs is expected to enter a new phase as Chung Dong-young recently reiterated his position that he should be allowed to rejoin the party.
Moon vs. Lee
Moon Kook-hyun, the founder and former chairman of the minor Renewal of Korea Party (ROKP), was stripped of his parliamentary seat in October.
The court ruled that he received money from an aspiring lawmaker after promising to select him as a candidate to run in the election on the party's ticket.
Moon won the election in the Eunpyeong district of Seoul, last year, by defeating former senior GNP lawmaker Lee Jae-oh.
The fall of Moon is in contrast to the rise of his former rival Lee who recently assumed chairmanship of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.
hkang@koreatimes.co.kr
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