Big Bang Looming Larger Ahead of Showdown
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Presidential hopeful Park Geun-hye of the Grand National Party (GNP) urged her rival Lee Myung-bak Tuesday to abide by the primary rules set through mutual agreement.
In a radio news program, she said she already made as many as three concessions in trying to reach an agreement with Lee's camp on the primary rules, in the interests of the party.
Both camps have differed over the translation of the March agreement and shown few signs of backing off from their stance, triggering speculation that the GNP would break up ahead of the Dec. 19 presidential election.
Park, a former chairwoman of the main opposition party, said she and Lee agreed on overall primary rules, including the exact portion of polls to be included in the nomination.
Lee's camp said an agreement was made only on the number of the delegates and when the primaries will take place but that other details had not been finalized. Lee, a former Seoul mayor, has demanded that the portion of polls in the nomination be increased.
Their differences over the March agreement rekindled a blame game between the two sides.
In Tuesday's radio interview, Park described Lee as a self-serving player who continued to change the rules in favor of his interests.
Members of Lee's camp questioned why Park raised the issue at a tripartite meeting arranged by party leader Kang Jae-sup last Friday. Camp insiders said both contenders agreed not to raise the issue at the meeting for reconciliation.
Park made a case that she raised the issue because she and Lee are in the picture-perfect primary campaigns with the exception of a disagreement on the rules. Therefore, it has to be resolved, she added.
Lee is also known to have felt uncomfortable with her expressing that she sacrificed herself three times for the primary rule agreement.
Amid the heated blame game, there was a backlash from the rank-and-file lawmakers of the GNP. A two-term lawmaker Yim Tae-hee told reporters that the public had run out of patience for the fight between the two contenders. He added that the big two have to offer a grand strategy to the public, instead of an abrasive power struggle.
The draft of the primary rules was completed in March based on an agreement by the party's contenders, including Lee and Park. It took nine months for the party to finish the draft.
Park was serving as chairwoman of the party during the project. She appointed Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, a pro-Park figure, as head of the ad hoc committee overseeing the draft. The former chairwoman told the radio program that her allies and close friends warned that she made a grave mistake with her appointment of the ``wrong'' figure in the position. She said her only concern was to overhaul the party and win the presidential election.