Park Geun-hye seeks breakthrough reconciliation snag

Ruling party presidential hopeful Park Geun-hye is expected to seek a breakthrough to cope with the snag in her national reconciliation drive, political sources said Thursday.

The five-term conservative lawmaker whose surprise visits to the graves of progressive presidents right after she won the Saenuri Party's candidacy, bolstered her public image, experienced a setback earlier in the week when her trip to the monument of a labor activist in Seoul was marred by protest.

Park, 60, the eldest daughter of late President Park Chung-hee, was blocked from going to the Jeon Tae-il Foundation by protesters calling for real solutions to the country's labor problems.

Jeon became a figurehead of the country's labor movement after he burned himself to death in 1970 while fighting for better working conditions at a textile firm. His death at age 22 has been seen as a protest against the authoritarian regime of President Park, who ruled the country from 1961 to 1979.

The late president is credited with leading the country's industrialization in the aftermath of the 1950-53 Korean War, but he has drawn flak for his suppression of democracy.

Park's supporters in the party claimed that her visit to the foundation was aimed at healing past hurts and reconciling the gap between those that fueled the country's industrialization and those that fought for democracy.

Such views, however, were not shared by everyone in Saenuri.

Rep. Lee Jae-oh, a long-time political opponent, countered that Park's stance that a unilateral offer of reconciliation will automatically lead to national unity is an arrogant idea.

In addition, Rep. Chung Mong-joon, another vocal critic of the presidential hopeful, blasted comments made by Hong Sa-duk, the co-chairman of Park's primary election campaign, who told reporters recently, that the late President Park's move to rewrite the Constitution in 1972, was aimed at ensuring the country's exports reached US$10 billion, and not because he wanted to hold onto power indefinitely.

"Hong's comments are very disappointing and belittles the people's (drive for democracy)," the seven-term lawmaker said.

Others such as Rep. Nam Kyung-pil said that recent actions to reach out to opponents is a move in the right direction, but the party's presidential candidate needs to examine what is causing the discord and try to find policies that can alleviate such grievances.

Related to the criticism raised, party insiders stressed that Park will not be deterred by obstacles since she has set her sights of forging national unity as the cornerstone of her presidential campaign.

Kim Chong-in, a reformist economist and head of the party's special committee on people's happiness, hinted in a radio talk show earlier in the day that Park could take more "bold steps" to get her message through.

"She may try to visit fired laborers of Ssangyong Motor Co. and relatives of people who died in the Yongsan fire," he said, although Park has remained silent about such a move.

Ssangyong laborers and relatives of squatters who died or were imprisoned for resisting arrest in the Yongsan development project have become icons of progressives and the country's labor movement.

Lee Sang-don, who is a member of Saenuri's political reforms special committee, went a little further and said it may be advisable for Park to pay respects to the relatives of people who were executed in the infamous "Inhyukdang" incident.

Alleged members of Inhyukdang or the People's Revolution Party were arrested in April 1974 and sentenced to death or up to life imprisonment on charges of violating the National Security Law. Those arrested were mostly university students opposing the dictatorship with all people involved subsequently cleared of wrongdoings. The court found the government at fault for its actions.

Besides the need for the Saenuri candidate to overcome her past and the legacy of her late father, party officials said there is a need to make concerted efforts to win the minds of voters in their 20s and 30s.

Park is clearly ahead of all rivals among conservatives and people over 50, yet her support among the younger generation is weak.

In a recent poll, Park's approval rating among the people in their 20s and 30s stood at 26.7 percent and 37.4 percent, each. This is in stark contrast to the 50-60 percent rating received by Ahn Cheol-soo, a entrepreneur-turned-professor, who is widely viewed as having political ambitions.

Ahn has not formally said he will run in the Dec. 19 presidential race, but he is running neck-and-neck with Park in nationwide polls.

"She has to increase her contact with young people," a party official said. He warned that failure to do this and win support could make the presidential race very hard, despite Park's solid support among older generations. (Yonhap)