By Lee Tae-hoon
Rep. Park Young-sun, a reporter-turned lawmaker, won the primary race of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) for the selection of a candidate in the upcoming Seoul mayoral race, Sunday.
Park, 51, won support of 38.3 percent of those polled, defeating three other aspirants of the liberal party including Reps. Chun Jung-bae and Choo Mi-ae.
Chun, a former human rights lawyer and four-term legislator, placed second with 28.7 percent at the party convention held in the Olympic Park Gymnastics Gymnasium, trailed by judge-turned-lawmaker Choo with 21.8 percent and former lawmaker Shin Geh-ryoon with 11.2 percent.
The contest was based on a 50-50 combination of votes from party members at the convention and the outcome of a survey carried out Friday and Saturday.
“Above all, the forthcoming Seoul mayoral race will be a judgment call for the Lee Myung-bak administration,”Park said in her acceptance speech.
The two-term lawmaker will compete against Park Won-soon, the front-running independent candidate, and Choi Gyu-yeop, winner of the minor progressive Democratic Labor Party’s primary, in a race to field a unified liberal candidate for the mayoral race.
Leaders of opposition parties have agreed to field a single candidate from the liberal camp chosen in a second vote to be held on Oct. 3 with the aim of increasing the chances of winning the contest.
On Saturday, Park Won-soon, a lawyer-turned-civic activist, announced that he would accept the DP-led initiative to field a unified opposition candidate against the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) without pre-conditions.
Park, whose approval rating was below 5 percent, became an overnight “liberal sensation” after iconic software entrepreneur Ahn Cheol-soo refused to enter the political arena and instead endorsed the activist, earlier this month.
“I accept the nomination rules requested by the DP,” Park said. “Although the rules may be unfavorable for me because I have no political party or organization, I accept them unconditionally.”
A unified candidate will be selected on the basis of three criteria: 30 percent each based on public opinion polls and an assessment by panelists after televised debates, and 40 percent based on the outcome of a vote by the public.
DP Chairman Sohn Hak-kyu painted a rosy outlook for the upcoming by-election to pick a new Seoul mayor as his plan to field a unified liberal candidate unfolded without a hitch.
“It is absolutely certain that we (the DP) will clinch victory at the Seoul mayoral election,” he said.
Polls show that lawyer-turned-civic activist Park is ahead of potential rivals from both the DP and governing GNP by double digits, raising hopes that the DP-backed nomination race would produce the winner of the mayoral election.
“Today will serve as another cornerstone for winning next year’s general and presidential elections,” Sohn said.