By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Park Geun-hye, former chairwoman of the Grand National Party (GNP), claimed that a conspiracy is underway in the party's selection of candidates to run in the upcoming National Assembly elections.
A tabloid newspaper headline, which read Park and President Lee Myung-bak had made a secret deal to replace 50 percent of incumbent lawmakers in Gyeongsang Province with new faces, angered Park.
Rep. Park denied it in a firm tone and said that ``there was no such thing as a secrete accord.''
``It is so obvious that they (referring to close aides of President Lee) have gone too far when it comes to party candidate selections. And I cannot stand it any more,'' said Park, who was defeated by Lee in the party's primaries last year by a margin of 1.5 percentage points.
Park said there must be someone behind what she called a conspiracy, warning she would find out who the person was.
She was referring to a person quoted on the condition of anonymity as one of her close aides in the article who was described as a middle-man delivering her views regarding the selections to the President.
The newspaper said Park and Lee agreed that their confidants should share an equal portion in the selection of candidates in the GNP stronghold.
The GNP screening committee is scheduled to unveil its list of candidates for Gyeongsang Province over the weekend. Of 254 parliamentary seats up for grabs nationwide, 68 are in Gyeongsang.
GNP lawmakers swept the region in the 2004 elections, taking 62 seats out of 68. Of the 62 lawmakers, 22 are said to be supporters of Park.
Initially, the committee was scheduled to finalize the list by early this week, but they delayed the deadline, mainly because of conflicts of interest between the two factions.
Rumor has it that about 40 to 50 percent of incumbents will be replaced by new figures.
If the massive replacement becomes a reality, it is expected to deal a big blow to Park because many of her supporters would fail to make the cut.
All eyes are on what her options would be if the plan turns out to be a reality.
Lee Jung-hyun, a close aide to Park, told The Korea Times that there are several options she can take.
Political analysts speculated she could leave the party along with her close aides and create a new party for the upcoming elections. Park could team up against the GNP with her aides and others who are unhappy with the governing party's selection, they added.
These experts also said that another possibility is that Park may consider joining Lee Hoi-chang's Liberty Forward Party (LFP).
Lee said, ``Park is keeping all of these options open'' and urged waiting to see how the selection in Gyeongsang Province turns out. ``Park's decision will come afterwards,'' he said.