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After achieving a dramatic victory in the April 11 parliamentary elections, Park Geun-hye can’t be blamed for wanting to distance herself from President Lee Myung-bak to rally supporters ahead of the presidential election slated for December.
Now seems to be the perfect time for this as investigations of President Lee’s aides and relatives are underway for their alleged involvement in various bribery scandals.
But the ensuing political infighting within the ruling Saenuri Party has raised a roadblock to the plan to distance herself from the lame duck President as his term nears an end.
The leading presidential hopeful is now tasked with the challenge of controlling her aides so as not to ruin her presidential ambitions.
Choi Jin, president of the non-profit think tank Institute of Presidential Leadership based in Seoul, said the demanding job would not only cost her political capital, but also delay the plan to distance herself from President Lee.
“Park gained the spotlight after she pulled a successful parliamentary election together. But the festive mood was short-lived as she faced political infighting soon after,” Choi said. “She could lose momentum to push the drive to sever ties with the unpopular President if she is distracted by internal affairs.”
In a rare speech that lasted nine minutes Wednesday, Park rebuked her supporters for allegedly being involved in power games ahead of the National Convention to select the lineup of the ruling party leadership slated for May 15.
Park said the ruling party was “caught in a power struggle” and that the divisive act was “suicidal.”
She blamed an unspecified group of lawmakers for spreading rumors and unconfirmed information about the leadership contest and circulating a list of figures for key posts.
The daughter of the late President Park Chung-hee warned of the consequences, urging them to “stop spreading hearsay and instead focus on bread-and-butter issues for low-income families” as the party promised to so during the campaign.
Park issued the warning to her aides for playing a blame game about two unethical lawmakers-elect who showed signs of hurting her leadership.
Kim Hyung-tae, who attempted to sexually assault the wife of his late younger brother years ago, and Olympic gold medallist Moon Dae-sung, who is under fire for plagiarism, left the conservative party after their unethical acts were verified.
Despite this, the ruling party is still suffering the consequences as the two had run in elections on its party ticket. Critics say their selection was preventable as their unethical acts were made public during the nominations.
In addition, the circulation of a list of figures to “take over” the party’s key posts at the National Convention prompted a rumor that the leadership had already been decided on.
The power games invited criticism from within. Kim Moon-soo, governor of Gyeonggi Province, accused Park of secretly meddling in the leadership contest.
Regarding the list, the presidential bidder alleged Park was “shrouded in veils” when making key decisions.
Distracting power games will cost Park career as it will be difficult for her to take timely steps to realize her presidential ambitions.
President Lee’s mentor Choi See-joong and a key aide are now under investigation for their alleged involvement in money-for-favor scandals. Choi and Park Young-joon, a former presidential secretary and deputy minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, have been questioned over receiving cash from a businessman in return for exerting their influence to help him get a permit to develop a site in southern Seoul.
Lee’s brother, Rep. Lee Sang-deuk, had been questioned over a bribery case, and rumors abound that the prosecution could reinvestigate the lawmaker. Lee’s son is also under investigation for alleged tax evasion.
