elect Independent Hits Frontrunners Zigzag NK Policy
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
Independent presidential candidate Lee Hoi-chang said Tuesday that frontrunner Lee Myung-bak of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) has had an about-face on his North Korean policy to win conservative votes.
In a lecture to a group of war veterans who participated in the Vietnam War in Daegu, the ultra-conservative criticized the GNP candidate for advocating the pro-North Korean ``sunshine policy'' of engaging the communist regime. He argued Lee Myung-bak, a former Seoul mayor, later changed his stance on North Korean affairs to soothe a backlash from conservative forces.
Meanwhile, Lee Hoi-chang was hit with eggs thrown by protesters against his run for the presidency on the street after the lecture.
Lee, 72, who announced his third presidential bid, is on a nationwide campaign trail by bus.
``Regarding the Republic of Korea's identity and ideology, (the leader) should have clear philosophy and principle on them, regardless of ideological inclination of left or right,'' said Lee Hoi-chang, a former Supreme Court judge.
``(The leader) should implement policies toward North Korea focused on dismantling the North's nuclear weapons program and reforming and opening the reclusive state,'' said Lee, a former chairman of the conservative GNP.
The former Seoul mayor is referred to as a middle-of-the-road politician on North Korean affairs.
Earlier this year, the GNP unveiled his campaign pledges on North Korea aimed at boosting inter-Korean economic projects, which conservative groups see a move to help Pyongyang develop a nuclear arsenal.
In a security forum hosted by the country's war veterans' group last week, however, the former chief executive officer of the Hyundai Engineering and Construction rejected made it clear that North Korea's full denuclearization would be a precondition to plans to facilitate cross-border business programs.
He also stressed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea should be protected under any circumstances.
Earlier in the day, he visited the house of former President Park Chung-hee's birth in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, in a move to woo support from the former head of state's daughter Park Geun-hye.
Park, a runner-up in the GNP's primary in August, Monday expressed her opposition to Lee Hoi-chang's run for the presidency. The remarks were construed as her intention to back the GNP's standard-bearer for the Dec. 19 polls.
Lee Hoi-chang praised the Park Chung-hee government for achieving dramatic economic rise, saying the achievements should not be defamed.
Park, who ruled the country from 1960 to 1979, is generally credited as playing a pivotal role in the development of South Korea's economy by shifting its focus to export-oriented industrialization, while critics call him a military dictator.