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.
Park brings order to Saenuri
By Kang Hyun-kyung
By Kang Hyun-kyung
The feud within the ruling Saenuri Party began to show signs of abating Wednesday as two disgruntled members of the Park Geun-hye camp eased their demands for a campaign shake-up.
They had earlier protested Park’s appointment of so-called “wrong people” to key campaign positions.
It is believed that recent personal meetings between the Saenuri Party’s presidential candidate and Kim Jong-in, chairman of the ruling party’s committee handling economic and social campaign pledges, and Ahn Dae-hee, the head of the party’s political reform committee, Tuesday, worked to ease the impasse.
Meanwhile, insiders speculated that the sides appeared to have reached a consensus based on the need to guard against allowing the feud to dent the party’s electoral fortunes ahead of the December election.
Ahn told reporters prior to the closed door meeting that he has “worked hard and would continue to do so to achieve clean politics and would do my best to assist Rep. Park so that her sincerity can bear fruit.” A statement signaling his commitment to Park’s electoral campaign ostensibly laying to rest all doubts about his future with the camp.
Regarding the meeting, Ahn said he gave pieces of advice to the presidential candidate and she would make decisions because she was in charge.
Earlier, Ahn indicated his willingness to break ranks with the Saenuri Party if Park went ahead with appointing Han Kwang-ok, a former chief aide to the late former President Kim Dae-jung, as chairman of the unity committee,
Han was convicted in 2003 for receiving illegal payments from a banker in return for providing political favors. Ahn was then the prosecutor investigating the case.
Snippets coming out of Tuesday’s meeting suggest that Park is very likely going to withdraw Han’s appointment and possibly personally take up that role. Han is meanwhile, very likely going to head a committee handling the East-West voter divide for the ruling party.
A party official speaking on condition of anonymity said Park possibly convinced Ahn to rescind his threat to quit the party, by meeting his demand not to proceed with Han’s appointment to the committee.
“I get the feeling that Ahn fully understood how much Park trusts him and needs him to win the presidential election,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kim reportedly decided to return to work after having an hour long meeting with Park, during which he was quoted as having said saying that he didn’t want floor leader Lee Hahn-koo to be “a backseat driver” on the economic justice vision. He also proposed that Park play a role in legislative support for the vision.
Earlier Kim boycotted his work for five days, complaining that no progress had been made on campaign pledges for economic justice. His relationship with floor leader, Lee has soured in recent days because of differences on the issue of reining in corporate greed.
Lee dismissed Kim’s perceived obsession with the term “economic democracy” arguing that such a term is absolutely alien to mainstream economics. Kim nonetheless has remained defiant on his call for measures to curb corporate greed.
His return to work indicates some concessions must have been made, perhaps granting him full powers to be in charge of Park’s economic and social policy vision. Lee reportedly will keep his hands off campaign pledges and focus more on the ruling party’s relations with the opposition parties at the National Assembly as its primary interlocutor.