Rep. Kim Moo-sung of the ruling Saenuri Party and Rep. Park Sun-sook of the main opposition Democratic United Party are a rare species in Korean politics. They recently set shining examples of self-sacrifice in the ongoing election candidate nomination process, attracting praise from the media as well as fellow politicians.

Rep. Kim is a political heavyweight who has been elected four times from a district in Busan, a traditional stronghold of the ruling party. The party’s candidate recommendation committee, however, denied him another chance to run, citing its 25 percent cutoff rule.

Before starting the candidate screening process, the party declared it would assess the electability of its incumbent lawmakers and eliminate the bottom 25 percent.

Kim’s elimination was a surprise as he was known to enjoy solid support in his constituency. The screening panel’s decision was all the more perplexing as the party’s dominance in Busan was in jeopardy due to the gains made by the DUP.

Kim’s exclusion, however, was not something totally unanticipated in light of his feud with Park Geun-hye, the ruling party’s leader and presidential frontrunner. Before 2010, Kim had been a close aide to Park. But he turned his back on her as she opposed him becoming a floor leader.

Political watchers saw the nomination panel’s move as a kind of retaliation. Hence they expected Kim to defect and run in the election as an independent, as he had done in the previous election four years ago.

Kim admitted he had seriously considered forming an alliance with other snubbed incumbent lawmakers of the ruling party. But he finally chose to accept the screening committee’s bitter decision.

The veteran politician said serving another Assembly term would be meaningless for him if he had to leave the party and his comrades. Furthermore, he said, his departure would accelerate a split of the Saenuri Party, helping the DUP win not only the parliamentary election but the December presidential poll.

Declaring his allegiance to the party, Kim urged other disgruntled Saenuri lawmakers to stay and work together for the party’s election victory. His appeal worked. Since his announcement on Monday, more than a dozen candidates excluded from the nomination list have renounced their plans to run independently. The figure is expected to increase further.

Pundits say Kim’s courageous act could help the ruling party win at least 10 more seats in the April election. More importantly, Kim has demonstrated how a political leader should behave when his party is in crisis. Although the party’s decision was difficult for him to bear, he chose to take the high road, putting the party’s interests before his own.

Kim’s conduct should catalyze the emergence of a new behavioral norm for Korean politicians, who have no qualms about defying the decisions of their parties to pursue personal gains. Party politics cannot develop unless politicians conduct themselves in an honorable way.

Rep. Park Sun-sook has also set an admirable example of self-sacrifice, which should be emulated by her fellow politicians. A first-term lawmaker, Park represented the DUP in negotiations with the United Progressive Party on forming an alliance for the April election.

The two parties managed to forge a nationwide alliance, boosting their prospects of winning a parliamentary majority. To form the alliance, however, the DUP had to make big concessions to its junior partner.

The party agreed to yield 16 constituencies to UPP candidates and hold primaries in 76 constituencies to select a single opposition candidate. These concessions meant that the DUP politicians who had planned to run in these districts were forced to withdraw their candidacy altogether or compete with UPP candidates for nomination.

Park said she made up her mind not to seek reelection the moment she was appointed as the DUP’s chief negotiator. The conscientious lawmaker, who served as former President Kim Dae-jung’s spokeperson, said that it was simply not right for her to run in the election after having dashed the dreams of so many DUP candidates.

The party’s leadership offered to nominate her in recognition of her role in sealing the alliance. But Park remains adamant in her decision not to run. Her attitude is in sharp contrast to that of some candidates who are willing to sell their souls to get a nomination. The lawmaker’s integrity and high moral standards deserve accolades.