13 lawmakers vying in GNP leadership race
By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff reporter
Rep. Na Kyung-won of the governing Grand National Party (GNP) threw down the gauntlet Sunday to her 12 competitors, who have declared their bids to run in the party's July 14 leadership race.
A former judge, Na, 46, said she will rejuvenate the conservative party, which suffered a defeat in the June 2 local elections.
"Allow me to be at the forefront of the GNP," she said at a press conference held at party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul.
"I'll transform the party into a vibrant and captivating one that keeps pace with the public's evolving expectations," she said.
The two-term lawmaker served as the GNP's spokeswoman between July 2006 and March 2008 and came second in the party's primary for the Seoul mayoral race.
Five members of the decision-making Supreme Council will be picked at the upcoming national convention, in which the one who secures the most votes is elected the new chairperson.
As the party regulation stipulates that at least one of the five Supreme Council members must be a woman, if no female candidate places in the top five in the election, the one who garners the most votes automatically becomes a Supreme Council member.
As of Sunday, three female candidates, including Reps. Lee Hye-hoon, Chung Mi-kyung, declared their candidacy to run in the race.
In the convention, some 9,000 senior members of the party will cast two ballots each to pick new leaders.
Recent polls by the GNP show that four-term lawmakers Hong Joon-pyo and Ahn Sang-soo are leading the race. They have both served as floor leaders,
Other candidates include Reps. Chung Doo-un, Nam Kyung-pil, Suh Byung-soo and Han Sun-kyo.
Former party Chairwoman Park Geun-hye, former Chairman Chung Mong-joon and former floor leader Lee Jae-oh will not run in the contest, but are expected to greatly influence the outcome of the elections.
The GNP has been under calls for reform after the defeat in the local elections, which were widely viewed as a mid-term referendum on President Lee Myung-bak.
Political observers say the upcoming race will highlight the factional clashes between the rival followers of President Lee and Park.
Currently, 90 to 100 lawmakers belong to the Lee faction, while some 50 lawmakers support Park.