Ruling party candidate gains crucial support in showdown with independent


Rep. Park Geun-hye, former chairwoman of the ruling Grand National Party, at last declared that she will back the party’s campaign for the upcoming Oct. 26 by-elections.

In doing so, she added momentum to Na Kyung-won, who registered herself as a Seoul mayoral candidate on Thursday.

“I shall discuss the detailed processes with corresponding party officials,” said Park on Thursday.

She also said that her decision was made to help out the party from its ongoing slump.

“Politics is about improving the people’s lives and giving them hope, but the political circles have failed to play that role,” she said.

“I have so far stayed out, leaving the helm to the government and the ruling party, but now is the time to pull ourselves together and work for fundamental changes.”

The present situation, including the public’s growing distrust of political parties, is not only a crisis for the GNP but for politics itself, she added.

“Parties may be to blame for their underperformances but this does not mean that party politics is no longer required,” she said.

By this, Park largely referred to the current support for the liberal bloc’s independent candidate, Park Won-soon.

Civic activist Park, who is leading his GNP rival in most public polls, is to register himself with the National Election Commission on Friday, most likely as an independent candidate.

“Regardless of whether you join the party or not, you nevertheless will be the sole opposition candidate and we shall offer the best support possible in the mayoral race,” Rep. Sohn Hak-kyu, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, told Park during their meeting on Thursday.

Sohn, following the party’s failure to field its own candidate in the opposition bloc’s internal race against Park, offered on Tuesday to resign but called off his decision the following day after other DP leaders strongly opposed it.

In response to Sohn’s pledges, Park also hinted that he may consider joining the DP after the by-election results.

“Should the DP take the lead in creating a new political order through the upcoming by-election, I would be happy to work together with the party,” Park said.

Most of Park’s supporters, however, disapproved of his entering the DP.

According to a public poll conducted by Seoul Sinmun on Wednesday, 58.3 percent of respondents were against his DP membership.

Park, while postponing his final decision regarding the issue of DP membership, is to kick off a united election campaign with members of all three opposition parties and leading liberal civic groups, according to officials.

Eyes are also on Ahn Chul-soo, though he has not yet stepped out to join the camp. Ahn declined to run for mayor last month, endorsed Park and has been touted as a possible liberal rival to Park, who is the GNP’s presidential frontrunner.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)