Dispute Over New Party Primary Rules Subsides
By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Discord over primary rules in the pro-government United New Democratic Party (UNDP) has subsided as the two frontrunners Monday accepted the party's decision to pick the presidential nominee by taking into account a public survey.
Hours earlier, the party's ad hoc committee for the Oct. 15 nomination race announced that the UNDP's presidential candidate will be selected based on a vote (90 percent) and a nationwide survey (remaining 10 percent).
Former Gyeonggi Governor Sohn Hak-kyu, who has the most support among the five contenders in surveys, expressed discontent over the low ratio, while former Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young threatened to file a lawsuit on the decision.
``I will not cling to how much of the survey result will be reflected. I will play the game fairly,'' Sohn, 60, said.
The former governor, who topped a preliminary race on Sept. 3, insisted that the party should let the survey account for 50 percent of the final tally.
Sohn, who bolted from the conservative Grand National Party (GNP) in March, has been chosen as the most favored among probable pro-government presidential candidates in most opinion polls.
On the other hand, Chung, 54, opposed the party's decision, claiming that the party's adoption of a survey was not stipulated in its internal rules.
He had threatened to file a lawsuit against the changed rules.
However, Chung moved away from his hard stance Monday.
``To rescue the party from crisis, I will not ask for any conditions,'' he said. ``I decided to respect the party's decision.''
The party has also agreed to adopt voting via mobile phone, party officials said.
Voters registered with the party can vote for a candidate by sending text messages from Oct. 10 to 13, they said.
Party members are expected to vote in their regions _ voting starts in Ulsan and Jeju Island, Saturday.
Ballot-counting will be conducted on the same day the members vote.
The party will hold primaries in a total of eight provinces and big cities including Gwangju on Sept. 29 and Seoul on Oct. 14.
The controversial survey conducted on citizens will take place by the second week of October, party officials said.
The party will announce its presidential nominee on Oct. 15 in Seoul.
The UNDP was created last month mostly by deserters from the now-defunct Uri Party and some from the minor opposition Democratic Party.