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By Chung Min-uck
The results of the National Assembly elections gave the green light to two presidential hopefuls representing the conservative and liberal camps in their pursuit to take over the top job, according to campaign watchers Wednesday.
The two politicians are Rep. Park Geun-hye, acting chairwoman of the ruling Saenuri Party, and Moon Jae-in, a lawmaker-elect who successfully ran in the Sasang district in Busan on the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) ticket.
Analysts agreed that Park and Moon, who was chief of staff under late former President Roh Moo-hyun, solidified their position as leading presidential candidates.
Since taking the helm of the party’s interim leadership committee last December, Park, the daughter of the late former President Park Chung-hee, has spearheaded a drive to rebuild the troubled ruling party, and was on the frontlines during the election campaign.
The outcome will likely give her a boost.
“The Saenuri Party hit a rock bottom in public opinion polls in December before Park took over,” Hong Sung-gul, a professor at Kookmin University in Seoul, said.
“The election results will beef up her position as a leading presidential candidate among conservatives.”
Some analysts disagreed, predicting that her leadership may be challenged by opponents from within.
“The score the Saenuri Party garnered in the elections is not solid enough to prevent her from being challenged by rivals,” Yoon Hee-woong, a senior analyst at the Korea Society Opinion Institute, a polling agency, said.
Park’s potential rivals include Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Moon-soo. Kim locked horns with Park over the party’s nomination of candidates, alleging she was not an easy person to communicate with.
“The fact that the Saenuri Party secured more than 120 seats doesn’t necessarily mean that Park proved to be a tough leader. The campaign landscape facing the ruling party in this election was not as challenging as in 2004,” said Shin Yul, a professor of political science at Myongji University in Seoul.
Park led the beleaguered Grand National Party (now the Saenuri Party) in the National Assembly election in 2004, playing a decisive role in her party securing 121 seats in the 299-member legislature.
The party’s ratings hit the lowest point months before the 2004 parliamentary race due to backlash over its unsuccessful drive to impeach former President Roh Moo-hyun.
Park’s potential rival Moon Jae-in won his first parliamentary seat in the Sasang district in Busan, a conservative stronghold.
Though DUP candidates failed to hit double digits when it came to seats in the nation’s southeastern region ― Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province ― experts say it will not hurt Moon’s position as the front-running liberal candidate.
Park visited Busan five times during the campaign to prevent a Moon victory.
Meanwhile, another presidential candidate, Ahn Cheol-soo, considered an alternative to the political establishment, is likely to maintain his status quo, according to experts.
“Ahn’s status depends on how Moon performs. Since Moon was relatively successful in the parliamentary elections, Ahn will have to wait and see if and when to join the presidential race,” said Yoon.
