Anti-Park faction reaching out to Ban

By Kim Hyo-jin

A group of lawmakers planning to break away from the ruling Saenuri Party are in talks with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon over a possible alliance for next year’s presidential election, their spokesman said, Thursday.

“Some lawmakers of the group have been in touch with Ban and we have had close talks,” Rep. Hwang Young-cheul said in a radio interview.

However, Hwang remains cautious about whether Ban will join the breakaway lawmakers.

“It is not appropriate to talk about it at this point as he is exploring various options,” he added.

In the wake of a factional feud over the corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye, 35 lawmakers aligned against President Park announced, Wednesday, that they will leave the governing party, Dec. 27, to set up another conservative party.

Also, Ban virtually declared his bid to run for the presidency, Tuesday, once he completes his second term as U.N. chief at the end of this year. He said he is open to banding together with various political groups.

With the Saenuri Party’s breakup looming large, speculation is rife that Ban and the splinter group could join hands and create a new conservative force, seeking to regain momentum of the conservative bloc, hit hard by the presidential corruption scandal.

Ban had been rumored to be considering running for the presidency under the banner of the Saenuri Party, with President Park and her loyalists backing him.

However, following Park’s impeachment, he seems to be distancing himself, criticizing the current administration for the ongoing political turmoil.

Hwang said more than 60 lawmakers are likely to leave the party and join the anti-Park faction should Ban team up with them. Currently, the Saenuri Party holds 128 Assembly seats.

The anti-Park Saenuri lawmakers aim to set up a new party by Jan. 20, Rep. Choung Byong-gug said.

The 35 lawmakers set up a preparatory committee, Wednesday, co-chaired by Choung and Rep. Joo Ho-young following the announcement of their exit plan.

“With the distinct possibility of an early presidential election, we feel we need to rush to create a party,” an official of the committee said.

The envisioned party will be tentatively called the “New Conservative Party,” Choung said.

Separately, the U.N. chief was the favorite candidate in the latest poll for the presidential election, scheduled for December 2017 should Park’s impeachment be overturned.

According to local pollster Realmeter, Ban has 23.1 percent, followed by former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Moon Jae-in with 22.2 percent and Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung at 11.9 percent.