By Jun Ji-hye
Kim Jong-in, a chief strategist of the Park Geun-hye camp in charge of economic and social campaign pledges, unveiled the lineup of members of the campaign team, Sunday.
Speaking at a news conference held at the party’s headquarter in Seoul, Kim said “the Saenuri Party invited experts from all walks of life to forge the presidential campaign pledges” to appeal to the hearts and minds of voters.
The team is one of the two core pillars of the Park camp. The other is in charge of political reforms, which was launched weeks ago and unveiled a set of measures to overhaul the political arena.
Kim is in charge of the newly launched team. He invited 12 outside experts in various areas and eight Saenuri Party members including Rep. Rhee Chong-hoon and Rep. Na Seong-lin.
Kim Kwang-doo, head of Park’s think tank the National Future Research Center is to take charge in the area of economics and Choi Sung-jae, who is regarded as welfare brain for Park, is responsible for welfare.
The lineup of Kim’s team was launched later than expected as there were power struggles from within over the direction of economic policies.
Kim locked horns with Rep. Lee Hahn-koo, the floor leader of the Saenuri Party, regarding how to deal with conglomerates.
Kim called for reforming corporate governance and seeking measures to curb corporate greed, whereas Rep. Lee said conglomerates are not the subject to be regulated.
The internal strife made it difficult for the ruling party to set up an economic policy team as the two sides showed no signs of backing off.
But the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP)’s primaries pressurized Rep. Park Geun-hye, the Saenuri Party presidential candidate, as support for Rep. Moon Jae-in of the DUP soared.
The ruling party’s unveiling of the economic team coincided with the DUP’s Seoul race, the last of the 13 nationwide primaries.
Besides, the Party’s presidential hopeful Park Geun-hye, who expressed her intention to focus on narrowing social inequality, rather than focus on economic growth, also is in trouble with big challenges regarding past affairs that occurred in her father’s regime including a spy scandal. Analysts said Park’s instability could be one of the reasons that delayed the committee’s decision-making.
Kim, who penned the term “democratization of economy” for the 1987 Constitution, expressed his disappointment in the slow progress of the committee. “I came to the Saenuri Party because it and Park Geun-hye asked me to help work for democratization of the economy. But I doubt if they have a will to achieve it,” He said in a speech Friday. “If you think carefully why the late President Park Chung-hee was assassinated by his intelligence chief aide in 1979 although he achieved great success in developing the economy, you will reach the conclusion that the political sphere should push ahead democratization of economy.”