Leaving the ruling party

Kim Jong-in, a member of the ruling Grand National Party’s interim emergency council, has urged President Lee Myung-bak to bolt from the ruling party, saying, “He should judge by himself.” Committee adviser Kwon Young-jin said, “The president should leave for the sake of the party.” Kim has definitely shown the views of forces supporting the party`s interim emergency council chief Park Geun-hye, though if he is qualified to say what he did remains in question.

President Lee is mainly to blame for making certain party members demand his departure from the party. A series of incidents has prompted people to turn their backs on pro-conservative forces: the controversy over President Lee’s retirement home; the arrest of his key aides including Kim Doo-woo, former senior presidential secretary for public relations, and Shin Jae-min, former vice culture minister; and the stock rigging scandal linked to a diamond mine in Cameroon involving former Knowledge Economy Minister Park Young-jun.

In the 2007 presidential election, Lee beat main opposition Democratic Party candidate Chung Dong-young by 5.31 million votes, the biggest margin in Korean history. Discouraged by failure, forces supporting the late former President Roh Moo-hyun left the political arena. They re-emerged, however, as the leading opposition force via the 2010 local elections and the election of the Democratic United Party`s chief last week. In less than four years, the political weight has tilted toward the left. There is every reason to blame President Lee and his supporters for this.

Since the direct presidential election system was introduced in 1987, presidents Roh Tae-woo, Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung defected from the then ruling parties. They were each abandoned by the very parties they had created. After Kim Young-sam forced Roh Tae-woo to leave the ruling party, Kim Young-sam`s son Hyun-chul was embroiled in a corruption scandal, being forced to bolt himself due to conflict with then presidential candidate Lee Hoi-chang. Kim Dae-jung left the party due to corruption by his three sons, while Roh Moo-hyun also defected from the Uri Party near the end of his presidential term after being blamed for weak administration. The practice of presidents leaving the ruling party near the end of their terms shows the immature side of Korean political parties. The presidential office said it will not be affected, but President Lee will nonetheless face continuous pressure.

Certain ruling party members predict a breakthrough if President Lee leaves the party. But this is no remedy. When Kim Dae-jung was facing pressure toward the end of his term, then presidential candidate Roh Moo-hyun said he would take all of the wealth and liabilities of Kim Dae-jung, which contributed to uniting the then ruling party. People will not believe the ruling party has changed with President Lee`s departure. Only true self-reflection and reform will gain public trust.