I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.
’Election Queen’ confirms backing GNP candidate
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Rep. Park Geun-hye of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) pledged Thursday to join campaign rallies to support Na Kyung-won, her party’s candidate for the Oct. 26 Seoul mayoral by-election.
The “Election Queen” said politics is in crisis and she felt a sense of urgency to do her best to change the situation.
“I tried not to directly get involved in elections, because I thought managing campaigns is ultimately the party leaders’ job,” Park told reporters at the National Assembly.
“But the situation facing us now is that the entire political arena, including the ruling party, is in crisis. We politicians need to work together to bring a wind of change to the political sector.”
Park said she would talk with ruling party staffers over how she will help Na.
The announcement came days after rumors arose that she would join campaign rallies for Na.
In previous elections, Park had been asked to give campaign speeches or show support for ruling party candidates, but remained silent despite the repeated requests.
Park’s decision to support the GNP candidate comes at a time when the role of political parties is being seriously challenged.
A claim that partisan politics are finished erupted after civic group activist Park Won-soon defeated Rep. Park Young-sun of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) in a primary to select a unified candidate representing the opposition camp in the Seoul mayoral race.
Campaign watchers said the role of social media and voters being fed up with old politics were behind Park’s victory in the Monday primary.
Park Guen-hye noted partisan politics is still needed in a democracy, despite the criticism.
A daughter of the late President Park Chung-hee, Park earned the nickname of Election Queen after the GNP scored many straight wins in elections held between 2004 and 2006 under her leadership.
During the same period, the then ruling Uri Party replaced its chairmen nine times after suffering election defeats.
Because of the stellar score sheet in elections held under her leadership, Park’s support was often described as the secret to win elections.
Park’s announcement of joining the campaign rallies is likely to energize the Na camp. A judge-turned-politician, Na is trailing Park Won-soon in polls by a margin of nearly 10 percentage points.
On Thursday, Na officially registered as a candidate to run in the mayoral race on the GNP ticket.
Meanwhile, DP Chairman Sohn Hak-kyu vowed to back Park Won-soon, a unified candidate in the opposition camp, during the campaign, although the latter won’t join the opposition party.
Earlier, the civic group activist reportedly mulled over joining the DP to benefit from its organization and campaign skills. But his aides said chances for him doing so were very low.