Parties Gear Up for Assembly Elections
By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Liberal parties vowed to win as many parliamentary seats in the upcoming general elections as part of a New Year's resolution Wednesday, the first working day of the year.
They also gave priority to overcoming the aftermath of defeat in the Dec. 19 presidential election.
``The general elections on April 9 are just around the corner. All the members should help a miracle happen,'' said O Chung-ill, chairman of the United New Democratic Party (UNDP).
Citing a folktale of a mouse that saved a lion by gnawing ropes, he encouraged fellow lawmakers that they can accomplish the grand goal despite their little power.
The chairman also stressed that the UNDP should allow more civic organizations to participate in its activities.
``From this year, the political era should be open with more civic groups joined,'' O said. ``We need to show the public that we have new forces, policies and visions.''
Supreme Council member Chung Kyung-hwan called for inter-factional cooperation for victory in the April elections.
However, the atmosphere of the ceremony to mark the first working day was dull as only a few UNDP members turned up.
Additionally, only two legislators including Spokesman Rep. Lee Nak-yeon attended, party sources said.
The minor opposition Democratic Party (DP) also sought to pull itself together to gain more Assembly seats in the general elections.
``To stand as a large opposition party, we are considering recruiting new faces and outside experts and revamping our organization,'' DP Chairman Park Sang-cheon said.
The Creative Korea Party (CKP) has set a goal of winning 30 Assembly seats in the elections.
``The party will make full support for state management after winning about 10 percent of the total of 299 Assembly seats,'' Co-Chairman Moon Kook-hyun told reporters. ``For our goal, I expect capable and future-oriented people to join the party mid-January or early February.''
He also stressed that he is ready to give up all the vested rights in the party to give more opportunities to outside figures.
However, he cast a skeptical view on possible merge with the UNDP, saying the public no longer have faith in existing parties.
Moon, former CEO of staple product maker Yuhan-Kimberly, ranked fourth in the Dec. 19 presidential election with 5.8 percent of support, even though he made his bid just four months before the poll.