DUP in severe nomination feud
By Chung Min-uck
The leadership of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) is facing a backlash from within over the selection of its candidates for the April 11 National Assembly elections.
The DUP announced Wednesday its third list of candidates for 23 electoral districts in the capital area. Altogether there are 246 elective districts in the nation.
Five female contenders passed the party’s evaluation to be chosen as final candidates, while 18 districts in the area were designated to conduct public polls for the selection.
The party earlier decided that it would field female candidates in 15 percent of electoral districts nationwide.
However, the announcement was delayed due to an internal conflict over the selection process. That for the southwestern Jeolla Province, an emerging bone of contention in the DUP, was not made public amid rumors that many incumbents in the region will be left out.
Criticism has been mounting from the former Democratic Party (DP) members who claim they have been neglected in the selections.
Major political groups from the liberal bloc _ the DP; Citizens Unity Party, a party largely consisting of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun’s aides; and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, the nation’s biggest umbrella labor group _ joined forces to launch the DUP last December.
The DP has its home turf in Jeolla, the late President Kim Dae-jung’s home.
“It is not good that the DUP’s selection process is assessed as a replacement of sitting lawmakers in the Jeolla region and disregards former DP members. This will be unfavorable for the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections,” said Rep. Park Jie-won, a supreme council member of the DUP and a close confidant of the late President Kim.
A previous announcement of candidates by the DUP leadership stirred controversy as it was largely favorable to pro-Roh figures.
The current DUP leadership and the selection review committee which is in charge of the party’s selection of candidates consist of close aides of the late Roh.
Many pro-Roh contenders including the DUP’s senior advisor and the party’s strongest presidential candidate Moon Jae-in were chosen to run at electoral districts in Gyeongsang Province. As for the second group of candidates announced for the capital area and central Chungcheong Province, figures such as Moon Hee-sang and Chung Sye-kyun who assumed key governmental posts under the Roh administration were included.
Analysts say that further disregard of former DP members for the candidacy on the DUP ticket will worsen the ongoing factional feud, which will negatively affect the party that is enjoying rising popularity in the lead up to the elections.