By Shim Jae-yun
A fierce battle for leadership of the ruling Saenuri Party has begun in the wake of the June 4 local elections.
Rep. Kim Moo-sung declared that he will run for leadership of the party which is to be decided through a ballot at a convention slated for July 14.
"I declare my bid for chairmanship of the party so that I can fulfill the mission given to me by history," Kim said during a press conference at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, Sunday.
He pledged efforts to make the governing party give up all vested rights and privileges for the sake of the people.
The five-term lawmaker belongs to a non-mainstream faction though he was formerly a loyalist to President Park Geun-hye.
Kim cited a need for the party to open its door more widely to those wanting to become party leaders, regardless of their wealth. "To that end, the party should lower the ceiling of money to be entrusted ahead of the national convention."
"I will provide rank-and-file party members with more rights to determine party affairs. For one thing, I will introduce a new system to collect the party members' opinions through mobile devices," he said.
He went on to say that he will play the role of conveying the people's opinions to the President. "We will exercise our best efforts to become a responsible party by working closely together with (the President) as partner of the state administration," he said.
Meanwhile, Rep. Suh Chung-won is also poised to throw his hat into the ring to compete with Kim for leadership of the party. The contest will likely become fiercer as a showdown between the two stalwarts.
Suh leads a pro-Park faction and his election will help the president strengthen her grip on the ruling party and conduct state affairs.
The pro-Park members said that Suh needs to secure the party leadership for the ruling camp to powerfully initiate state administration during the remaining tenure of President Park. For this, the party leader should be chosen among those who have no presidential ambition, they say.
Rep. Kim has indicated his willingness to run for the presidential election.
Besides Kim and Suh, Rep. Rhee In-je is also seeking to challenge the party leadership. Rhee, who already ran for the 15th and 17th presidential elections, cites the need for the party to select the new leader among those hailing from the central Chungcheong province, given the need to ease anti-government sentiment there.
The ruling party suffered a humiliating setback in the Chungcheong province during the just-ended local gubernatorial elections.
 |
| Rep. Kim Moo-sung annonces his bid to run for the party leadership during a press conference at the party headquarters in Youido, Seoul, Sunday. / Yonhap |
Rep. Kim Moo-sung declared that he will run for leadership of the party which is to be decided through a ballot at a convention slated for July 14.
"I declare my bid for chairmanship of the party so that I can fulfill the mission given to me by history," Kim said during a press conference at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, Sunday.
He pledged efforts to make the governing party give up all vested rights and privileges for the sake of the people.
The five-term lawmaker belongs to a non-mainstream faction though he was formerly a loyalist to President Park Geun-hye.
Kim cited a need for the party to open its door more widely to those wanting to become party leaders, regardless of their wealth. "To that end, the party should lower the ceiling of money to be entrusted ahead of the national convention."
"I will provide rank-and-file party members with more rights to determine party affairs. For one thing, I will introduce a new system to collect the party members' opinions through mobile devices," he said.
He went on to say that he will play the role of conveying the people's opinions to the President. "We will exercise our best efforts to become a responsible party by working closely together with (the President) as partner of the state administration," he said.
Meanwhile, Rep. Suh Chung-won is also poised to throw his hat into the ring to compete with Kim for leadership of the party. The contest will likely become fiercer as a showdown between the two stalwarts.
Suh leads a pro-Park faction and his election will help the president strengthen her grip on the ruling party and conduct state affairs.
The pro-Park members said that Suh needs to secure the party leadership for the ruling camp to powerfully initiate state administration during the remaining tenure of President Park. For this, the party leader should be chosen among those who have no presidential ambition, they say.
Rep. Kim has indicated his willingness to run for the presidential election.
Besides Kim and Suh, Rep. Rhee In-je is also seeking to challenge the party leadership. Rhee, who already ran for the 15th and 17th presidential elections, cites the need for the party to select the new leader among those hailing from the central Chungcheong province, given the need to ease anti-government sentiment there.
The ruling party suffered a humiliating setback in the Chungcheong province during the just-ended local gubernatorial elections.
![[INTERVIEW] INFINITE's Nam Woo-hyun returns after battling with rare cancer](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/a3c3440b8dc84bce8ca94394a170fef2.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[PHOTOS] It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas](http://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/newsV2/images/santa_0001_9a339f16fb3ac.JPG/dims/resize/268/optimize)
