Park distances herself from President Lee

By Jun Ji-hye

Park Geun-hye, the ruling Saenuri Party’s presidential candidate, is trying to distance herself as far as possible from unpopular incumbent, President Lee Myung-bak.

She harshly criticized the lame duck president over the weekend, slamming him for failing to deliver on promises he made to the people, an apparent strategy aimed at retaining votes from those who are disappointed with the current administration.

“Lee’s government pledged to turn around the economy but it only added difficulties to people’s livelihoods because it simply focused on quantitative expansion,” Park said during a stump tour of Gangwon Province, Sunday. “President Lee as well as the late President Roh Moo-hyun didn’t keep their promises to the people, only adding burdens them.”

Last Friday, the daughter of the late President Park Chung-hee also attacked Lee at campaign rallies in Busan and South Gyeongsang Province.

She told the electorate that she will create a “totally different administration from any other governments of the past.”

Such tactics initially came after the opposition candidate Moon Jae-in attacked Park, saying she should share the blame with Lee for the failure of his government. Park’s criticism against Lee gained further momentum after the result of a survey announced by SBS, Sunday.

According to the poll, 45.1 percent of respondents said they agree with Moon that Park should also be responsible for the failure of the Lee administration, while 46.5 percent answered that they don’t agree.

Regarding Parks’ criticism of President Lee, Seo Byung-soo, secretary general of the Saenuri Party, took sides with Park. Seol told reporters: “There are good things and bad things at the same time in every administration. Good things should be carried over of course, but we need to criticize the things that were wrong for a better future.”

However, the Democratic United Party’s (DUP) candidate called Park’s moves “a disguised divorce,” referring to some couples who file for divorce to avoid joint liability for heavy debts owed.

Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University, said Park’s recent tactics will be somewhat helpful in wooing voters.

“It will help her block negative publicity ahead of the presidential election. But such a strategy is not new because many candidates had distanced themselves from previous leaders in the past,” he said.

Meanwhile, former floor leader Rep. Lee Jae-oh, regarded as one of President Lee’s closest aides and who has been one of Park's harshest critics, declared his support for her.

“We need to regain power to continue to develop our nation. I will make a contribution to the task in any position,” he said in a statement.

Ahead of declaring his endorsement, Lee Hoi-chang, former chairman of the Liberty Forward Party, and current lawmaker Rhee In-je recently made their way into the Saenuri Party fold.

However, some insiders raised concerns over the task to target middle of the road voters. “Broadening the support base should be a priority now,” an insider said asking for anonymity.

The DUP criticized the conservative party’s move, saying “We doubt if old power can lead the future of the nation.”