Crony-dominated nomination process

The ruling Saenuri Party has designated 13 additional areas, including half of Seoul`s Yeongdeungpo district and Seongdong district, as strategic zones for candidate nomination in announcing its second candidate list of 81 areas in 47 districts. Incumbent party lawmakers who did not make the cut or were deferred due to the 25-percent cut-off rule included many pro-Lee Myung-bak forces. This has raised criticism that the nominations are intended to eliminate those loyal to President Lee Myung-bak.

Rep. Lee Jae-oh, a key aide to President Lee, was nominated but other incumbents close to the president were not. Rep. Chin Soo-hee and Jeon Yeo-ok were deferred while Rep. Kwon Taek-ki failed. Ahn Sang-soo, another key aide to the president, was also deferred. In the 2008 candidate nominations, Rep. Kim Moo-sung, a key supporter of President Lee and Park, was left out of the nominations, creating a stir. A nomination was granted to Lee Jae-oh but not others apparently to prevent uproar, sources within the party said. With those loyal to President Lee faltering, pro-Park forces are becoming more pronounced.

The ruling party`s candidate recommendation committee remains silent on why pro-President Lee people were left out of the nominations. Questions are surfacing of a conspiracy to leave out certain members close to the president. Though it would be difficult to announce the process of nomination, the transparency of nomination criteria should be enhanced for ruling party leaders to avoid criticism of a secret nomination based on a set scenario.

The results of the fourth round of candidate nominations by the main opposition Democratic United Party showed that Rep. Kang Bong-gyun, Kim Young-jin, Shin Gun, Cho Young-taek and Choi In-kee, all from the Jeolla provinces, did not make the cut. All of those who did not make the list were either those who failed to meet the identity criteria stressed by pro-Roh Moo-hyun leaders or pro-Democratic Party forces. The opposition party`s candidate recommendation committee designated south Gwangju district for a female candidate to include women connected to pro-Roh forces of party leader Han Myeong-sook, only to face resistance from the party. The area was eventually reserved for nomination later. In the Jeolla region, the party`s exclusion of incumbents raised criticism that pro-Roh forces were expanding.

According to Democratic United Party sources, potential position of secretary general Lim Jong-suk will create a stir over the nominations. Lim was found guilty of corruption in the first trial. Nominating him while verifying the morality of other members cannot be an excuse. Since Lim is a key figure in the party, his nomination could have an ulterior motive.

In both the ruling and opposition parties, mainstream figures that dominate the nominations are picking their aides and excluding others, making the trend of pro-Park and pro-Roh forces more severe. The public can never be moved by this kind of nomination process.