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| Rep. Kim Moo-sung |
By Do Je-hae
Ruling Saenuri Party Chairman Rep. Kim Moo-sung is facing a leadership crisis amid increasing political offensives from lawmakers who are loyal to President Park Geun-hye.
Kim gave up his idea of introducing an open primary system to choose candidates for the general election next year in the face of fierce opposition from the pro-Park lawmakers.
Now they are becoming more vocal and are demanding his resignation.
Speculations are rising that the ultimate aim of the pro-Park faction's attack on Kim is to oust him and hamper his presidential bid.
Analysts say the recent cases of confrontation between Cheong Wa Dae and Kim signal that Kim isn't the person that Cheong Wa Dae sees as the party's flag bearer.
The confrontation peaked after Cheong Wa Dae protested against Kim's proposal for changing the nomination rules for the forthcoming Assembly elections.
After criticism from the ruling party's pro-Park faction and Cheong Wa Dae, the chairman made a concession in his open primary proposal for selecting candidates for the general elections in April 2016. He angered Cheong Wa Dae by touting the open primary system and vowing to scrap the "strategic nomination," a format used by the party to designate high-profile figures to run at vital regions for the party without internal races beforehand. Park's political allies fear that the open primary scheme will undermine Cheong Wa Dae's influence in nominations. Two presidential aides who are rumored to be joining the parliamentary race announced their resignation Monday ― Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Min Kyung-wook and Park Jong-joon, the deputy chief of the Presidential Security Service.
"As long as I serve as chairman, there will be no ‘strategic nomination," Kim told reporters last week. But on Monday he said that under party regulations, a format of "priority recommendation" would be possible.
"I will agree to priority recommendations for certain districts pursuant to the party's constitution and regulations," Kim said. According to the party regulations revised last year, the priority recommendation involves the party designating political minorities, such as women and the disabled, as candidates to run in certain districts. The party can also make recommendations for districts with seriously unpromising applicants.
The pro-Park faction has criticized Kim for agreeing with the main opposition to pursue an implementation of a telephone poll as a method of the open primary, calling it a display of his unilateral leadership. During a Supreme Council meeting Monday, Rep. Suh Chung-won said that "such unilateral behavior would no longer be tolerated." Suh is known as the leader of the pro-Park group.
Due to failure to narrow the chasm on how the open primary should proceed, the party could not establish a special panel for reviewing the nomination rules as scheduled on Monday. Even the party's floor leader Rep. Won Yoo-chul is seen siding with the pro-Parks. Won snubbed Kim's choice to head the panel, the party's secretary general Rep. Hwang Jin-ha, by saying that it is the "party's practice for a Supreme Council member to head a special panel."
On top of mounting in-house attacks, Kim is also finding a tough time maintaining his previous position as a leading presidential hopeful.
The latest poll shows that he is no longer the voters' most preferred presidential contender from within the conservative bloc. A SBS poll released last month found Kim trailing UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, who topped a favorability survey on presidential contenders that included Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and main opposition leader Moon Jae-in.
In contrast to the distant relations between Park and Kim, Ban displayed signs of affinity with Park during her recent UN visit. Their repeated, friendly encounters provoked intense media speculation that Park may back Korea's most illustrious diplomat as a presidential candidate.
Personal troubles have also added to Kim's woes. Recently, Kim was hit by a drug scandal involving his son in law, who received a suspended sentence for drug abuse. The opposition brought forth allegations that Kim had helped his son-in-law to receive lenient punishment.
The influence-peddling scandal tainted Kim's image and his approval ratings suffered as a result.
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