By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Conservative President Lee Myung-bak's nomination of liberal economist Chung Un-chan for Prime Minister last week came as a surprise, spawning speculation over Lee's motives of designating the dogged opponent for the crucial job.
Some political analysts speculate that among other things, Lee might have intended to turn the current unipolar leadership competition in the ruling camp into the bipolar one by putting ambitious Chung, who once considered seriously running in the 2007 presidential race, in the game.
Competition for a presidential candidacy on the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) ticket in 2012 would require candidates to curry favor with President Lee to get his endorsement in the primaries and this would help bolster his power base, they analyzed.
Rep. Park Geun-hye, who returned to Seoul Saturday after wrapping up the 13-day trip to Europe as a presidential envoy, was considered an unrivaled presidential material in the ruling camp before Chung was called upon to serve the crucial job.
They say it is unavoidable that Park-dominated competition inside the ruling camp will change if Chung is appointed for Prime Minister, which is regarded as a springboard to presidency, after a parliamentary hearing.
GNP Chairman Park Hee-tae will resign from the leadership post this week and Rep. Chung Mong-joon, a member of the ruling party's decision-making Supreme Council, will taek over the chairmanship.
Earlier, Chung confessed that he had thought seriously of being part of the 2007 presidential race as a candidate. He, however, announced not to run in the election in a news conference held in April 2007.
``Presidential candidates are required to suggest visions for the nation and then receive support from the public with credentials that they had achieved in the political arena. I have neither led a party nor a political faction, so I think that I am not prepared for this,'' he said.
The announcement came after polls said he was neither considered a viable nor popular candidate among voters.
Lee Hyun-chool, a director general of the National Assembly Research Service, predicted that Chung would neither remain a quiet caretaker nor consensus builder in the Cabinet.
"Chung's leadership as a politician has not been tested and he has no support group in the ruling camp. So I think that he will actively present his ideas and opinions, rather than passively listening to what the President and other Cabinet members say in Cabinet meetings, in an effort to prove that he is a presidential material," Lee told The Korea Times.
The political analyst said that having Chung in the Cabinet as a second man will help Lee bolster his power base.
Under the unipolar competition, dominant leader Park will not feel the need to curry favor with President Lee.
But when the leadership competition turns into a bipolar system so Park has to compete with Chung to be a presidential candidate in the 2012 presidential race, the former GNP chairwoman will want to compromise with Lee to get endorsement for her candidacy.
Some political observers say President Lee nominated Chung, a Chungcheong native, for Prime Minister to prepare for local elections to be held next June.
The middle-eastern region is a swing province whose election results have determined the winners of presidential elections in the past.
By placing liberal economist as well as Chungcheong native Chung in the crucial government post, President Lee can balance the ticket and the ruling camp may get more support from voters there in future elections, campaign watchers said.