Pro-Park factions dominate Saenuri

Rep. Hong Moon-jong

By Jun Ji-hye

Many members of a pro-President Park Geun-hye faction have been given top posts in the ruling Saenuri Party during its structural reorganization.

The party completed filling its leadership posts Monday. Third-term lawmaker Hong Moon-jong was appointed secretary general; Rep. Yoo Il-ho, spokesman; and second-term Kim Jae-won, head of strategy and planning department. Prior to this, party legislators elected Choi Kyung-hwan as floor leader last week.

These people all have close relations with the President. Choi, Hong and Kim have worked with Park and assisted her for a considerable time. Yoo served as Park’s chief secretary on her power transition team.

Analysts say the party is moving to offer solid support for Cheong Wa Dae.

“The party chose effective figures able to help the presidential office forge ahead with its projects,” said Chung Goon-gi, a professor at the Journalism and Media Department of Kyonggi University.

Political analyst Lee Kang-yun echoed this: “The ruling party, which recently has been in crisis, saw the fall of the President’s approval ratings and chose to become a strong support base in the National Assembly for her.”

Pro-Park domination

Lee said in the roughly three months since the president took office, Cheong Wa Dae and the ruling party have not produced any striking achievements so far.

“If things go on like this, the ruling party could possibly lose in the October by-elections and this could result in a lame-duck phenomenon even in the early stages of the administration,” said Lee.

However, experts raised concern over the faction’s domination of the party.

“In the floor leader election, Choi beat his counterpart only with a margin of eight votes. It was different from prior expectations that forecast he could score a landslide victory. This means a significant number of those who can hold pro-Park members in check also exist within the party,” Lee said.

Kyonggi University’s Chung took issue with some members’ past wrongdoings.

“The public could feel concern about the return of figures such as Hong and Kim who had previously stirred up controversy in the political scene. They will need to show sufficient performance to make up for their faults,” said Chung.

Hong was expelled from the party membership in 2006 after he was found to have played golf nearby an area in Gangwon Province that was experiencing a torrential downpour.

Kim was criticized for being drunk and spewing foul language at a meeting with journalists in September last year, right after he was appointed party spokesman. He resigned from his position under mounting criticism.