GNP to bar unpopular incumbents from nomination list

The ruling Grand National Party (GNP) is pushing to drop incumbent lawmakers with exceptionally low approval ratings from the list of nominees and field fresh figures in their electorates in a bid to raise conservatives' chances in the April general elections, a senior party official said Monday.

The latest move is part of a series of reform measures by the struggling party to revive its image and reclaim voters in the April elections, considered as a crucial vote that is likely to impact the ensuing presidential race in December.

Those subject to the new nomination rule will be the legislators whose approval ratings in their own districts are lower than the party's approval rating by more than 5 percentage points, the official said.

To establish a fair and transparent system, the party's think tank, Yeouido Institute, will conduct polls prior to and after the Lunar New Year holiday, which falls on Jan. 21-24 this year, and make a nomination list based on the results, the official noted.

"The party conducted an in-depth study on ways to create a fair nomination process," the official said on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. "We are considering changing the incumbents whose approval ratings fall far short of those for the party."

The ruling party holds 167 seats in the 299-member unicameral parliament.

After then chairman Hong Joon-pyo last month stepped down following pressure from reform-minded lawmakers, the party launched an emergency council and selected the party's leading presidential hopeful Park Geun-hye to carry out sweeping reforms for the upcoming polls.

In South Korea, most party nominations are closed-door affairs led by a few heavyweights in the party's leadership, with little debate over policy issues. The opaque process, often riddled with bribery and nepotism, has been criticized as one of the sources of corruption and the reason for a general distrust of major political parties.(Yonhap)