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By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
Cheong Wa Dae urged former Grand National Party (GNP) Chairwoman Park Geun-hye Thursday to offer a public apology for her alleged defamation of President Lee Myung-bak regarding the government's revision of the Sejong City project.
"It was an absurd, regretful and nonsensical act for Park to insult a head of state before reporters without proper understanding of the circumstances," Lee's top press officer Lee Dong-kwan said.
"Park should apologize and explain why she behaved in such a manner. Or we will take appropriate measures."
Immediately after the statement, aides to the former GNP chairwoman reacted scathingly, saying she did nothing wrong.
Analysts said if the internal feud deepens further inside the party, Park may turn into the biggest political foe for the President. Some did not rule out the possibility of a split in the GNP.
Opposition parties are currently moving to submit a motion to unseat Prime Minister Chung Un-chan for his role in pushing the revision of an administrative town plan, while boycotting any dialogue with the GNP.
It appears to be unlikely at the moment for Park to join hands with the opposition parties to oust Chung, but some analysts say that could happen if the situation worsens.
During his visit to Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, Tuesday, Lee called for national unity to tackle global competition, saying, "When a burglar breaks into a house, family members should unite together to fight the burglar."
Park's supporters alleged Lee was voicing his displeasure with Park's opposition to the government's Sejong plan.
The following day, Park criticized the President and likened him to the burglar, saying, "Yes. I agree with Lee's burglar theory. But what if the thief was one of the family members?"
The intensifying war of words that indicate a love-hate relationship between Lee and Park, who contended for the GNP's presidential candidacy in 2007, may end up creating the worst case scenario - a split of the governing party.
Prime Minister Chung has solicited Park's support for an early ratification of the revised Sejong plan, but she has opposed the revision.
The government plans to submit a bill on the project aimed at transforming Sejong, originally designed to be an administrative complex, into an industrial hub, to get National Assembly approval by April.
The GNP holds 169 seats in the 299-member legislature, so it can easily secure a majority of votes to pass the Sejong bill if Park and her some 50 affiliated lawmakers cooperate.
The former chairwoman has said it's a challenge to representative democracy to override a state project that had already been endorsed by lawmakers and backed by the people. She was leading the then-main opposition GNP when she helped the passage of the administrative town project in 2005.
Park's stance on the project appears to be rock-solid, dimming the prospect for an early passage.
jj@koreatimes.co.kr
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