Lee Hoi-chang Re-elected as LFP Head
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Lee Hoi-chang was re-elected as leader of the Liberty Forward Party (LFP) at the party’s national convention at the Olympic Gymnasium in southern Seoul, Wednesday.
Political scientists were skeptical about the prospect of the minor opposition party, saying Lee failed to find his party’s niche in the legislature.
Lee, 75, called for leaping forward in his acceptance speech during the national convention.
“We, the party members, have laid the groundwork for the LFP since our party was created. The time is right for us to take off,” he said.
Five members of the party’s decision-making Supreme Council were elected. They are (to be updated)
To solicit voter support ahead of the June 2 local elections, the conservative party unveiled a set of measures, dubbed the “Initiative of 5 Ups and 5 Downs,” during the convention.
Under the initiative, Lee pledged to cut burdens that working-class families currently shoulder, while raising social benefits they can get from the government.
Lee founded the minor conservative party back in 2007 after he unsuccessfully ran in the presidential election, splitting conservative votes into two. It was his third time to run in the presidential election, following his consecutive defeats in 1997 and 2002 campaigns.
The National Assembly elections held in 2008 saw Lee’s revival.
His party won 18 seats in the elections mostly in the mid-southwest Chungcheong provinces, making it the third most significant party, following the ruling Grand National Party and the main opposition Democratic Party.
Two years later, the minor party stands at a crossroads.
“There was clearly a role that the LFP could have played in the National Assembly. I think Lee failed to figure out what it was,” Professor Kang Won-taek of Soongsil University told The Korea Times.
The political scientist pointed to Lee’s ineffective leadership as a leading cause of the LFP to face the identity crisis.
The LFP proclaimed itself as a political entity representing the Chungcheong region.
But polls found that much more Chungcheong residents said former GNP Chairwoman Park Geun-hye was better when it came to representing their interests.
The revision of the Sejong City project was a watershed event prompting them to switch their support from Lee to Park.
His flip-flopping over his commitments to retirement from politics back in 2002, shortly after he lost the presidential election, also had an effect on his influence.
Prior to the reversal, Lee enjoyed the reputation of a man of trust and principle.
His declaring a bid to run in the 2007 presidential election after going back on his word took a toll on his reputation.