‘GNP Picks Candidate With Ideological Balance’
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
The voters were out in full force, casting their ballots in the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP)'s primaries.
Prof. Hahm Sung-deuk of Korea University in Seoul told The Korea Times that the Aug. 19 primary results are a reflection of voter psychology, indicating they want to see power shift from the liberal camp to the conservative one in the Dec. 19 election.
Hahm said the nominee, Lee Myung-bak, 66, has unrivaled strength in political dispositions.
Lee, former Seoul mayor, is not slanted toward any particular political ideology and this factor gives him an edge over any other candidate, he said.
Park Geun-hye, 55, faced a series of losing streaks earlier this year. Park, former GNP chairwoman, has never come first in polls.
Political analysts said she could have done much better in the nomination race than the results as she enjoyed considerable influence in the party and had party leadership experiences.
Park, the eldest daughter of the late President Park Chung-hee, helped boost the party's popularity from a single-digit figure to more than 50 percent during her tenure as party chairwoman.
Her eloquent speaking style contrasted with Lee's blunt approach. His speaking style often generated a great deal of controversy.
Uncertainty seems to be one of the factors behind Park's failure to take advantage of the political capital she had gained in her campaigning for the primary.
Asked if Park's failure to get more support from voters is a an example of her reaching the glass ceiling for women in politics and female stereotyping by voters, the professor answered, ``Not exactly.''
Hahm pointed out that Park had failed to present herself as an alternative candidate to Lee, a former CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction.
Park's camp has raised many suspicions about Lee's property, and the two contenders exchanged attacks and counterattacks regarding the contentious issue.
``That was it. The public could not see any following measures that would steer citizens to look at her as an alternative option," Hahm said.
Park tried to curry favor with voters by presenting a three-point policy vision _ tax cuts, deregulation and the rule of law _ as her flagship pledge.
According to the professor, her efforts proved ineffective.
``She failed to reach voters with her speech and visions. She was out there and remained a daughter of the late President Park Chung-hee (instead of being a self-help candidate),'' he said.
Lee benefited from the hostage standoff in Afghanistan and the agreement to hold an inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang as these big news events made media headlines nearly every day in the last days of the primary campaigns.
The professor said the formidable foe is inside, not outside.
Lee should find ways of how to lock the defeated candidate into the party's decision-making process so that she can work closely together with him for the election, Hahm said.