'Battle of Jongno' between former prime ministers not likely to happen
Main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn speaks during the party's Supreme Council Meeting at the National Assembly, Thursday. Yonhap
LKP leader Hwang unlikely to run for Seoul's Jongno in upcoming election
By Jung Da-min
A “big match” in Jongno District between two former prime ministers ― main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn and ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) Lee Nak-yon ― is not likely to happen, with Hwang hesitating to declare his bid for the central Seoul constituency.
As Hwang has urged his senior party members to run for heavily competitive constituencies, his avoidance of Jongno in favor of other safe options is likely to draw criticism from inside and outside the party and could affect his authority as the party chief.
The LKP's nomination decision committee failed to conclude which constituency the party leader would run in for the April 15 election, Wednesday, with committee members having heated debates on the issue.
“We will come to a conclusion after I hold one-on-one talks with each committee member again,” said Kim Hyong-o, a former National Assembly speaker and head of the LKP's nomination committee, after the committee meeting at the National Assembly, Wednesday.
The committee plans to make the final decision on Friday, but political watchers say it is not likely that the party will make Hwang run in Jongno, where former Prime Minister Lee announced his candidacy in late January. Lee, a former journalist and four-term lawmaker, served as the South Jeolla provincial governor from 2014 before becoming the first prime minister to President Moon Jae-in in May 2017. He stepped down from the position early January this year.
Hwang, a former prosecutor, served as the third prime minister to former President Park Geun-hye from June 2015 to May 2017, after serving as justice minister for Park from 2013 to 2015. Following Park's impeachment scandal, Hwang was acting president from December 2016 to May 2017.
Taking Jongno has significance in politics, as the central Seoul district has been a stepping stone for potential presidential contenders, with former Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Lee Myung-bak having served in the district.
So the possible battle between Hwang and Lee in Jongno attracted great attention as the two are considered key contenders for the next presidential election in 2022.
Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon talks with staff at a welfare center for the elderly in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap
Currently Lee has been topping polls on future presidential candidates and Hwang has been ranking second, but still lagging far behind. In a poll of 2,511 adults over 18 conducted by Realmeter between Jan. 28 and 31, 29.9 percent selected Lee as their preferred presidential candidate while only 17.7 percent expressed support for Hwang.
In early January, Hwang himself declared he would run for a heavily competitive constituency in Seoul or the surrounding metropolitan area, to demonstrate his commitment to the party and set an example as the party leader.
However, he has remained silent over whether he will run in Jongno, the most competitive district for an LKP candidate to beat the high popularity of Lee, making it harder for the nomination committee to make a decision.
Instead Hwang said the matter of deciding which constituency he would run in should not be seen as a personal matter but should be strategically dealt with at the party level.
“It is not reasonable if I make a move in one way just because some say that I should,” Hwang said, Wednesday. “I am making my own timeline under a bigger strategy for the party's victory in the general election. It is not proper to talk about where and when within a fixed frame.”
Speculation is that the committee may have Hwang run in another “heavily competitive” constituency in the capital area such as Yongsan, Yeongdeungpo or Yangcheon districts and instead nominate another figure for Jongno. Former head of the LKP's emergency committee Kim Byung-joon, party spokeswoman Rep. Jun Hee-kyung or former lawmaker Hong Jung-wook have been mentioned.
Hwang's decision not to run in Jongno may draw further complaints, as other influential party members have already expressed discontent at Hwang pushing them to run for competitive constituencies while he himself is reluctant to do so.
Former LKP chief Hong Joon-pyo, who planned to run for a South Gyeongsang provincial constituency which is his hometown, protested the party's scheme to nominate him for another competitive district in the capital area.
“The party leadership has never contacted me for the two years since I quit the chief position, and now they make an unreasonable demand unilaterally. I dedicated myself to the party for 25 years by running for competitive constituencies, now it's time for the party to let me go (for my own choice),” Hong said on his Facebook.
“It is the appropriate duty for Hwang, as the current leader, to run for a competitive district as he joined the party only a year before and has not contributed to the party yet.”