By Chung Min-uck
Rep. Park Geun-hye, a ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker and one of the strongest candidates in the upcoming Dec. 19 presidential election, has set up a 31-member election campaign team with members ranging from heavyweight politicians to former government and business executives.
Hong Sa-duk, 69, a former vice speaker of the National Assembly and six-term lawmaker, will co-head Park’s campaign with 72-year-old economist-turned-politician Kim Chong-in.
As a long-time key aide to Park, and with his extensive experience in politics, Hong is set to oversee the campaign’s overall operations.
Kim, is also a member of the team’s policy-making committee, expected to set guidelines for Park’s economic agenda.
The veteran economist served as senior economic affairs minister under the Roh Tae-woo administration and drafted the “economic democratization” provision added to the Constitution in 1987.
The term became a buzz phrase in the political scene due to the deepening problem of social polarization following President Lee Myung-bak’s growth-oriented, pro-chaebol policies.
He was formerly a lawmaker of the left-wing Democratic Party.
Kim reportedly engaged with Park as a mentor for economic policies in 2007 after she lost to the incumbent President Lee in a party primary.
Hyun Myung-kwan, 71, a former vice chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries, also joined Park’s policy-making committee. Observers say the appointment of the former head of Samsung Corporation aims to counter Kim’s left-leaning view for balanced policies through his vast working experience in large conglomerates.
Yun Byung-se, 59, a former senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs and security during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, will be in charge of Park’s foreign policies. In comparison to Lee’s hard-line stance on North Korea, which is being held responsible for Pyongyang’s deadly provocations, the career diplomat reportedly emphasizes that a more balanced approach be taken. Insiders say Yun was behind making the presidential candidate’s North Korea policy dubbed “trustpolitik” published in the U.S. foreign policy journal Foreign Affairs last August. The policy seeks to rebuild trust with the North while maintaining unyielding national security. It calls on Pyongyang to honor the principles of the inter-Korean agreements signed under the previous leaderships of Park Chung-hee, Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun for inter-Korean cooperation.
Yun joined Park’s camp as founding member of her private think tank National Future Research Center (NFRC) in 2010.
Beside these figures, a seven-member policy-making committee also includes former defense minister and legislator Kim Jang-soo and Kim Kwang-doo, head of the NFRC who allegedly helped Park create her “disciplined capitalism.”
Experts say Park’s choice of personnel who hold different views on issues and come from various backgrounds shows her style of emphasizing a checks and balances system.