By Kim Jong-chan
Political Editor
Chung Mong-joon, chairman of the governing Grand National Party (GNP), has apologized to members of the GNP secretariat for what he called a "thing" he did seven years ago.
In a meeting with them on Sept. 15, the 58-year-old said he was sorry for the "thing that gave you much trouble," referring to his dropping out of the 2002 presidential race after endorsing then-ruling party candidate Roh Moo-hyun, a liberal, as the next president.
But his endorsement of Roh as president did not last long ― he withdrew his support on the eve of the voting. Despite the withdrawal, Roh defeated GNP standard-bearer Lee Hoi-chang and won the election.
The sudden change of his mind came just hours before the end of a 13-day official campaigning stint after Roh indicated during a rally in Seoul that Chung was not the only figure qualified to run in the next presidential election on his party's ticket.
Chung may have felt a sense of betrayal from Roh's remarks. He was said to have reversed his decision to support Roh over a failure to reach an agreement on power sharing. Chung has not clarified the reasons why he changed his mind.
He is a viable candidate for the 2012 presidential race. If he declares a bid for the election, it would be his second, and the third for the Chung family. His father, the late Chung Ju-yung, founder of Hyundai Group, unsuccessfully ran in the presidential election in 1992.
Chung has a weak base within the GNP as he joined the party shortly before the presidential election in December 2007 with a vow to support then-GNP standard-bearer Lee Myung-bak.
The GNP leadership race in July last year demonstrated his poor clout inside the party. He won the most votes in opinion polls of non-party members, but placed second in the competition as his predecessor, Park Hee-tae, garnered a sweeping win in voting by party delegates.
Chung, the largest shareholder of Hyundai Heavy Industries, has been elected to the National Assembly six times ― five times as an independent from a district in Ulsan where the world's biggest shipyard is located, and lastly in 2008 from a district in southern Seoul on the GNP's ticket.
He took the helm of the party Sept. 7 without a vote in accordance with party regulations ― he was runner-up in the party's last national convention. Park resigned to run for a National Assembly seat in the Oct. 28 by-elections.
He is now facing growing calls by mainstreamers within the party for the holding of a national convention to elect new party leaders early next year before the local elections in June.
Chung was previously active in the sports arena. He was elected president of the Korea Football Association in 1993 and vice president of FIFA a year later.
He also worked as chairman of the 2002 Korea-Japan FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee. His popularity soared as Korea advanced to the semi-finals, which led him to declare his bid for the presidential race later that year.
Since his inauguration, he has been increasing meetings with ordinary citizens as well as party legislators. Only when he is elected leader of the party through a vote at the next national convention, can he exercise his leadership more effectively.