Drive to discredit Lee likely to prevail

President Lee Myung-bak and his wife Kim Yoon-ok cast their ballots at a Seoul polling station in parliamentary elections, Wednesday. / Korea Times

By Kang Hyun-kyung

There is no mercy for the sitting president. Analysts Wednesday predicted that President Lee Myung-bak will have to weather harsh times in the post-election season as presidential hopefuls are set to attack him to rally support from the public.

In the post-election season, contenders, especially in the ruling camp, will try to distance themselves from the unpopular President as the clock is ticking toward the presidential election slated for December.

Analysts say Rep. Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party, an unrivaled contender in the conservative camp, will be no exception.

Hong Sung-gul, a professor of public policy at Kookmin University in Seoul, said it is natural that presidential hopefuls will steal the show in the wake of the parliamentary elections.

“Lee has only 10 months left in office and the tight political schedule for the presidential race in December will allow contenders to assail Lee vehemently in order to garner support from the public,” he said.

Political scientists forecast that both the ruling and opposition parties would be no different in terms of their position on Lee.

But the scope and intensity of their attack of the lame duck President will vary.

Earlier, the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) pledged drives to reverse major national agendas, such as the free trade agreement with the United States and the construction of a naval base on Jeju Island, if they take power.

Considering this, the liberal party will likely ratchet up the pressure on Lee over these agendas if it wins a majority in the parliamentary elections.

The ruling Saenuri Party has taken a different path over the above projects, denouncing the DUP for switching its position on agendas that were closely related to national interests.

Despite the differences over those initiatives, analysts say, the two sides will be on the same page with regard to the spying scandal and corruption rows involving President Lee’s aides and relatives.

Hong said these scandals would make the headlines again in the post-election season as parties and their presidential candidates will endeavor to politicize those issues.

Park called for zero-tolerance for corruption and therefore is likely to continue to stand firm against the scandals.

Contenders from the DUP could opt for independent counsel to investigate the government’s illegal surveillance of civilians thoroughly or call for hearings on the corruption rows.

Hahm Sung-deuk, professor of political science at Korea University in Seoul, said the President is unlikely to find an outlet as few will side with the unpopular leader.

“Lee needs deputies who have political acumen. I am wondering if he really has any though,” he said. “No wonder Lee will find himself a lame duck President and that the situation will be exacerbated as his presidency heads to its end point.”

In previous governments, sitting presidents’ positions weakened later in their presidencies as the presidential polls neared.

Rep. Chung Dong-young of the DUP distanced himself from the late former President Roh Moo-hyun when he was chosen as a presidential candidate for the liberal side in 2007.

Chung was critical of Roh to garner support from liberals and moderates who opposed the then lame duck President.

Hong said among others, the surveillance scandal is a big one and therefore will resurface as a major issue.

“What Lee has to do is try to confront it as it is, not try to play it down or cover it up,” the political scientist said.

Meanwhile, campaign watchers said a party that garners 140 or more parliamentary seats out of the 300-member legislature would be declared the winner.

Campaign strategists of the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition DUP were wary of the turnout rate.

Conventional election wisdom says a low turnout is a good sign for the ruling party as its traditional supporters are elderly and conservative voters who tend to head to polling stations, even in bad weather.

Site Map E-paper Subscribe Register LogIn
Site Map E-paper Subscribe Register LogIn