ed New Saenuri leadership
Despite negative public sentiment toward the loyalists of President Park Geun-hye, Lee Jung-hyun, her close confidant, was elected chairman of the governing Saenuri Party in the party’s national convention Tuesday. Of the five elected Supreme Council members, four are also considered to be Park loyalists.
With pro-Park members holding a grip on party leadership, the result comes as an embarrassment to the non-Park faction that blamed the mainstreamers’ tyranny in candidate nominations for the ruling party’s crushing defeat in the April 13 general election.
The election of Lee, a three-term lawmaker, has two aspects.
On one hand, he can be touted for having made history by becoming the first politician from the southwestern Jeolla provinces to head the conservative party based in the rival Gyeongsang provinces. No doubt, his rise to top leadership will contribute a great deal to easing deep-seated regional antagonism.
The fact that Lee, who was re-elected on the opposition’s home turf in April, has actually served as Park’s mouthpiece for a long time will help beef up communication between the governing party and the first female head of state. It is hoped that he will convey all the problems of state affairs to the President without making any adjustments.
On the other hand, skepticism about his election to the top party post, which will be more empowered than before, abounds. First, the election outcome, which is a far cry from public opinion that has been forming since the April election, is feared to leave efforts to reinvent the party utterly useless.
Lee’s victory might ensure a smooth relationship between the Saenuri Party and Cheong Wa Dae, but it’s doubtful if the pro-Park faction’s hegemonic rule of the party will be terminated.
In his acceptance speech, Lee vowed to uproot all factions within the party and carry out unprecedented political reform. But if past experience is any guide, factional feuds are never easy to resolve. Actions speak louder than words.
Lee is also tasked with resetting the party’s subservient relationship with the presidential office. The governing party ought to say no to Cheong Wa Dae’s unilateral and unreasonable requests with confidence and offer alternatives.
Most important, the ruling party under Lee’s baton may have to give top priority to boosting dialogue with the opposition parties at a time when it has no parliamentary majority.
What must be prerequisite to all these tasks is that the new governing party leader can speak straightforwardly to President Park so that her ill-conceived decisions can be corrected sooner rather than later.