Mid-term Parliamentary Elections Set Stage for Next South Korean President by Todd Brendan Fahey
(Seoul) - Late-May elections to determine the newest Parliamentary mix could also likely determine who will succeed current President Roh Moo-hyun as the next President of the Republic of Korea. South Korea's Constitution--designed to avoid a continuous reign of any single leader--restricts a President to one 5-year term. Mr. Roh, elected in 2002, will, therefore, end his rocky tenure in December 2007.
If the two previous "by-elections" and special elections to replace House members who had resigned or been convicted of crimes are any indication, the conservative Grand National Party (Hanara Party) will overtake the left-of-center Uri Party this year. The GNP picked up seven seats in Parliament and, previously, two more (a 9-0 sweep, respectively), over the last two regional and special campaigns.
The legislature currently has 299 seats, of which 243 are elected by regional vote and the remainder are distributed by a proportional representation ballot. Uri Party members hold a bare two-seat majority over its opposition Grand National Party, with a number of seats held by independent or minor party members.
Good news if you are a conservative? Not according to Korean voter habits.
"We Koreans root for the underdog," said the President of a large television manufacturing company recently, and who wished to go unnamed. "The business community is worried about a [Grand National Party] victory in the May elections. This would energize the younger voters and the liberals in the teachers and agriculture unions."
President Roh Moo-hyun has been mired at sub-35% public approval ratings for many months. Coupled with the recent resignation of Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan, over a betting-on-golf scandal, and a strong Korean won that is affecting negatively the country's exports of everything from cellular phones to flat-panel display devices, many South Korean businessmen are looking to Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak as the nation's savior.
Lee rose from poverty to become CEO of Hyundai Heavy Construction, specializing in mass-transit construction, and is enjoying nationwide applause for having redesigned the chaotic bus routes of Seoul and for renovating the polluted and unsightly Cheonggye river district. But a chilly relationship with Grand National Party chair Park Geun-hye--daughter of assassinated President Park Chung-hee, who, despite his hard-handed, autocratic methods, is credited with "the Korean economic miracle" of the 1970s-to-present--, herself a Presidential aspirant in 2007, threatens to wedge a fissure in South Korea's right wing.
Fortunately, for political conservatives, there has appeared no underdog in South Korean politics.
The probable Uri Party nominee will be former MBC news anchor Chung Dong-young--a handsome, stylish millionaire in his own right. Formerly the Minister of Unification (between North and South Korea) and currently Uri Party chair, Mr. Chung is closely associated with the unpopular Roh Moo-hyun, who is gaining no new support as the days roll by.
After a 35-year occupation by Japan and a rancorous four-year war with the communist North, South Korea has defied all economic expectations.. The upcoming Parliamentary elections and an imminent change of Presidents will likely see continue this trend into the unknown.
Todd Brendan Fahey has served as aide to former Arizona Governor Evan Mecham and to former Congressman John B. Conlan (R-AZ).
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Original Investigative Journalism from the
Columnist Guild News Bureau
If the two previous "by-elections" and special elections to replace House members who had resigned or been convicted of crimes are any indication, the conservative Grand National Party (Hanara Party) will overtake the left-of-center Uri Party this year. The GNP picked up seven seats in Parliament and, previously, two more (a 9-0 sweep, respectively), over the last two regional and special campaigns.
The legislature currently has 299 seats, of which 243 are elected by regional vote and the remainder are distributed by a proportional representation ballot. Uri Party members hold a bare two-seat majority over its opposition Grand National Party, with a number of seats held by independent or minor party members.
Good news if you are a conservative? Not according to Korean voter habits.
"We Koreans root for the underdog," said the President of a large television manufacturing company recently, and who wished to go unnamed. "The business community is worried about a [Grand National Party] victory in the May elections. This would energize the younger voters and the liberals in the teachers and agriculture unions."
President Roh Moo-hyun has been mired at sub-35% public approval ratings for many months. Coupled with the recent resignation of Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan, over a betting-on-golf scandal, and a strong Korean won that is affecting negatively the country's exports of everything from cellular phones to flat-panel display devices, many South Korean businessmen are looking to Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak as the nation's savior.
Lee rose from poverty to become CEO of Hyundai Heavy Construction, specializing in mass-transit construction, and is enjoying nationwide applause for having redesigned the chaotic bus routes of Seoul and for renovating the polluted and unsightly Cheonggye river district. But a chilly relationship with Grand National Party chair Park Geun-hye--daughter of assassinated President Park Chung-hee, who, despite his hard-handed, autocratic methods, is credited with "the Korean economic miracle" of the 1970s-to-present--, herself a Presidential aspirant in 2007, threatens to wedge a fissure in South Korea's right wing.
Fortunately, for political conservatives, there has appeared no underdog in South Korean politics.
The probable Uri Party nominee will be former MBC news anchor Chung Dong-young--a handsome, stylish millionaire in his own right. Formerly the Minister of Unification (between North and South Korea) and currently Uri Party chair, Mr. Chung is closely associated with the unpopular Roh Moo-hyun, who is gaining no new support as the days roll by.
After a 35-year occupation by Japan and a rancorous four-year war with the communist North, South Korea has defied all economic expectations.. The upcoming Parliamentary elections and an imminent change of Presidents will likely see continue this trend into the unknown.
Todd Brendan Fahey has served as aide to former Arizona Governor Evan Mecham and to former Congressman John B. Conlan (R-AZ).
Original Investigative Journalism from the
Columnist Guild News Bureau
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