Ruling camp leaders resign over local elections defeat
Democratic Party scores stunning victory
By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff reporter
Leaders of the governing party and the presidential chief of staff Thursday expressed their intention to step down to take responsibility for the Grand National Party (GNP)'s defeat in Wednesday's local elections.
Those who have announced their resignations include GNP Chairman Chung Mong-joon, the party's secretary general Chung Byoung-guk and President Lee Myung-bak's chief of staff, Chung Chung-kil.
With the resignation of party leaders, an ad-hoc crisis management committee will assume interim leadership until the GNP national convention slated for June 30.
Presidential chief of staff Chung also expressed his desire to step down to President Lee after a meeting of senior presidential secretaries, said Lee Dong-kwan, senior presidential secretary for public relations.
The President has yet to accept his resignation, according to sources.
"Let's turn the election results into a chance to reflect on ourselves and focus on reviving the economy," Lee was quoted as saying without commenting on the resignations.
However, there will not be mass resignations by senior presidential aides, Lee Dong-kwan said.
The polls were regarded as an interim evaluation of the ruling GNP and President Lee's first two years in office and a preview of the 2012 presidential race.
The move came after the GNP only managed to secure six of the 16 metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial posts, whereas the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) won seven and the Liberty Forward Party (LFP), one. The remaining two seats went to independents.
Oh Se-hoon of the GNP was reelected as mayor of Seoul, after edging out Han Myeong-sook of the DP, in a drawn-out battle that was too close to call.
Kim Moon-soo of the GNP won reelection in the Gyeonggi gubernatorial election, defeating Rhyu Si-min, the opposition's unified candidate and a close confidant of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun.
DP candidate Song Young-ghil won the Incheon race.
The DP swept its home turfs of Jeolla and the port city of Incheon, and even took Gangwon, where no liberal politician has occupied the gubernatorial post since local autonomy was introduced back in 1995.
The LFP, led by Rep. Lee Hoi-chang, won the Daejeon mayoral race. But overall, the results were disappointing for the party as it had high expectations for the South Chungcheong gubernatorial race where "Sejong City voters" were expected to carry the party to victory.
Followers of the late Roh performed surprisingly well. They include Gangwon Governor-elect Lee Gwang-jae and South Chungcheong Governor-elect Ahn Hee-jung, both belonging to the DP.
Kim Doo-kwan, an independent called "little Roh Moo-hyun," won the South Gyeongsang gubernatorial race. He defeated GNP candidate Lee Dal-gon, a former minister of public administration and security, on the GNP's home turf.
Woo Keun-min, an independent, was elected as Jeju governor.
Of 228 administrative chief posts at lower units, the GNP also won only 82, while the DP clinched 92. Independents won the race in 36 constituencies, followed by the LFP with 13; the Democratic Labor Party, three; and two other minor opposition parties, one each.
"The election results can be seen as the people's sincere request that politicians handle state affairs through bipartisan compromise," outgoing GNP Chairman Chung said in a meeting of senior lawmakers. "The GNP should turn Wednesday's elections into an opportunity to regain the public's trust."
Up for grabs in Wednesday's elections were 3,991 posts --16 governors or mayors of large cities; 228 administrative chiefs at lower units; 3,649 local councilors; 16 education superintendents; and 82 education board members.
지방선거 패배로 여당 지도부 총사퇴
한나라당 지도부와 청와대 대통령실장은 목요일 6월 2일 치러진 지방선거 패배의 책임을 지고 사임하겠다는 뜻을 밝혔다.
사임을 표명한 인물은 정몽준 한나라당 대표, 정병국 사무총장과 정정길 대통령실장 등 총 세 명이다.
지도부가 사퇴의사를 밝힘에 따라, 비상대책기구가 설치돼 새 지도부가 선출될 7월 전당대회까지 한나라당을 이끌 것으로 보인다.
조해진 한나라당 대변인은 김무성 원내대표와 고흥길 정책위의장이 정몽준 대표와 정병국 사무총장을 대신할 것이라고 밝혔다.