The election of Lee Jung-hyun as the new leader of the Saenuri Party has both positive and negative implications for politics within and beyond the conservative ruling party. 

The first thing that should be noted is that Lee, a third-term lawmaker from Gokseong, South Jeolla Province, is the first politician from the southwestern region to take the helm of the Saenuri Party, which for decades has been deeply tied to the southeast.

Lee said that his election would help ease antagonism between the two rival regions. It remains to be seen how voters there will take Lee’s election, but it certainly marks a watershed in the decades-long regional rivalry that has been a major ailment of Korean politics.

The second positive element -- from the perspective of President Park Geun-hye -- is that she will be able to work with the friendliest of the ruling party leader candidates during the remainder of her time in office.

Park herself was leader of the conservative party, but after election as president, she has often faced conflict with ruling party leaders such as former floor leader Yoo Seong-min and former party leader Kim Moo-sung. The feud between the pro-Parks and non-Parks reached its peak during the April 13 parliamentary election, in which the Park loyalists’ excessive intervention in candidate nominations resulted in the party’s devastating defeat.

It is against this backdrop that Lee’s election is a boon for Park, who many believe has already become a lame duck in the wake of losing control of the National Assembly to opposition parties.

Lee made it clear that he will lead the party in a totally different way to people like Yoo or Kim. He said that the nation – with the chief executive at the center – should cope with issues related with people’s livelihood, economy and security. “The 1 1/2 years remaining in the Park presidency is a long time,” he said.

As if to demonstrate affinity between the president and the new ruling party leadership, Park hosted lunch for Lee and eight other members of the Supreme Council at the Blue House on Thursday.

But the close relationship between Park and the new Saenuri leadership also raises questions about the future of the ruling party under Lee.

Lee said that he would not allow any factional strife, but some skeptics already talk about the possibility of the non-Parks leaving the party ahead of next year’s presidential election.

Lee himself fueled the speculation by clearly stating that the party should bring in an outside figure as its presidential candidate. The comment again confirmed the divide between the pro-Parks who prefer U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as the party’s standard-bearer and the non-Parks who have several potential candidates among themselves.  

This means Lee’s first and most urgent job is not catering to the president but fostering unity in the party and restoring public trust in the ruling party.

Lee declared in his acceptance speech, “From now on, there are no pro-Parks and non-Parks and any other factions in the party.” The future of the party will be determined largely by whether he will make good on his promise and run it independently of his former boss.