GNP leader to undergo test in by-elections

By Park Si-soo

The upcoming by-elections on Oct. 26 will test the leadership of Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, chairman of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP).

He will surely win a stronger say if his party outmaneuvers rival parties in the elections where nine mayors, including one for Seoul and 19 representatives of provincial and city parliaments are up for grabs. It might also set the stage for Hong’s smooth voyage toward the general elections slated for April.

Yet, the situation is a double-edged sword.

The defeat of the GNP in the by-elections should deal a serious blow to Hong, who took office in July yet still struggles to establish his leadership amid an intense power struggle between the two intraparty factions ㅡ one loyal to President Lee Myung-bak and the other to former GNP chairwoman Park Geun-hye. Hong has said he doesn’t side with any faction of the two.

His struggle to keep his leadership untouched was well shown in a speech last Friday.

“I will never meet with Mayor Oh again. My relationship with him is over,” he angrily said, referring to Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who quit Friday to take responsibility for a lower-than-quorum voter turnout in a referendum on whether to maintain the free school meal program in Seoul. “Oh’s betting his mayorship on the vote was an act of prioritizing his own political interests ahead of those of his party, which was inappropriate.”

Oh put his position on the line despite strong opposition from Hong.

Oh’s crushing defeat in the vote led to calls for his immediate resignation, while the chairman tried to keep him at the seat, saying, “Oh de facto won in the referendum,” citing the final voter turnout of 25.7 percent, 7.6 percentage points lower than the quorum of 33.3 percent.

If Oh had stepped down after Sept. 30, the by-election for Seoul Mayor would have been delayed until April next year, which means Hong would have had more time to bolster his weak leadership.

An imminent return of lawmaker-turned-ministers loyal to President Lee to his party is another tinderbox of intraparty conflict that would weaken his leadership, analysts said.

The presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae said the three ministers ㅡ Lee Jae-oh, Choung Byoung-gug and Jin Soo-hee ㅡ will return to the party in a ministerial reshuffle later this month, an apparent scheme to bolster sagging clout of lawmakers loyal to President Lee in the GNP. The three are proven supporters of President Lee’s policies.

Hong assumed the top job in a national convention in July under the frantic support of lawmakers and other members friendly to former GNP chairwoman Park. His election was widely seen as a sign of collapse of the pro-Lee faction.