As the ruling Saenuri Party struggles to contain the backlash from the graft scandal involving some of its key members and top government officials, its leader Rep. Kim Moo-sung is seen expanding his clout with the backing of nonmainstream members.

While the scandal involving former and incumbent aides of President Park Geun-hye has become the biggest stumbling block for the party ahead of the April 29 by-elections, Kim’s approval ratings have soared.

Analysts attributed Kim’s rise to conservatives’ growing demand for an alternative to the pro-Parks.

“(Kim’s rise) was only a matter of time,” said Yoon Pyung-joong, a political philosophy professor at Hanshin University. “Even though there are other political heavyweights in the ruling party, Kim is practically the only one capable enough to navigate the party through crises. Therefore, Kim’s rise is inevitable,” said Yoon.

The survey by Realmeter released on Monday showed that Kim received 13.2 percent of support among the potential presidential candidates, behind longtime front-runner Moon Jae-in of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy with 27.9 percent.

By category, Kim beat Moon in the Saenuri strongholds of Daegu, North Gyeongsang Province and Gangwon Province, as well as among voters in their 50s.

Kim’s prominence was exhibited by last week’s one-on-one meeting with Park, as she sought his help in sustaining the opposition’s pressure to sack Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo, one of eight people accused of having received money from deceased businessman Sung Woan-jong. The prosecution is currently investigating the allegations.

While Kim had urged the opposition to wait until Park returns from her Latin American tour, by Monday he reportedly decided that Lee’s resignation would be inevitable in the wake of worsening public opinion and the opposition’s move to impeach the premier. Hours after Kim’s comment, Lee tendered his resignation.

Kim had also beat Park to take the initiative when the scandal broke out earlier this month by holding a press conference calling for a “thorough prosecutorial probe” into the allegations. It was only hours after Kim’s briefing that Cheong Wa Dae managed to release a statement reiterating the same position.

Kim also wasted no time in canceling a scheduled high-level meeting with Cheong Wa Dae and the government, in an apparent move to distance the party from the officials embroiled in the allegations including presidential chief of staff Lee Byung-kee.

Fifth-term lawmaker Kim, 63, won the chairmanship in July last year by defeating Seo Chung-won, a longtime confidant of Park, and vowed to forge “healthy tension” with the administration.

While Kim was not necessarily considered an anti-Park member, he had had a “love-hate relationship” with her throughout the Lee Myung-bak administration when the rift between the pro-Parks and the pro-Lees peaked.

When the party went through an internal power struggle during the 2012 presidential campaign, it was Kim who Park had sought to head her campaign headquarters. Kim, however, grew apart from Park upon the launch of her administration, as the staunch pro-Park members secured top posts within the party and Cheong Wa Dae.

Now, Kim, empowered by reformist floor leader Rep. Yoo Seung-min, is expected to continue to butt heads with Cheong Wa Dae over critical issues such as a Constitutional revision and the introduction of the open primary system that is feared by the pro-Park members to disadvantage them in the run up to next year’s parliamentary elections.

Earlier this year, he urged the government to raise taxes for financing welfare ― seemingly a veiled swipe at Park as she promised welfare without a tax increase during her presidential campaign.

“It appears to be a struggle between current power and future power,” said Yoon of Hanshin University. “Former presidents pulled out all stops not to lose control to party leaders.

“But they ended up giving in as the presidency entered the lame-duck period,” said Yoon.

The most immediate test of Kim’s leadership will be the by-elections next week, as he faces the first competition with his rival Moon in the parties’ contest for four constituencies.

By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)