President Roh Moo-hyun and the ruling Uri Party¡¯s presidential hopefuls have started playing a political game over control of the agenda for the presidential election next year. Uri Party chairman Kim Geun-tae and former chairman Chung Dong-young in an emergency meeting on Thursday agreed to create a new party, to be called the People¡¯s Party. In a thinly veiled warning to President Roh to keep his hands off, the two said it will be ¡°autonomous and independent from outside political influence.¡± That finalizes the two ex-Cabinet minister¡¯s break with their former boss.
A clash between supporters of the president and followers of Kim and Chung, the largest faction in the party, seems inevitable. In a letter to Uri Party members on Dec. 4, Roh opposed the creation of the new party, which he accused of being ¡°regionally based¡± -- a dire failing in the eyes of a man who made overcoming ¡°regionalism¡± a top priority. On Thursday, Cheong Wa Dae made it clear once again that it does not want to see the ruling party return to regional base and that the party identity should be maintained. It added the fate of Uri and creation of a new party should be determined at the party¡¯s national convention.
But the rebels reject any intervention by the president. According to Uri Party spokesman Woo Sang-ho, by calling for an autonomous and independent party, the group made it clear that it would be inappropriate for outside political forces, including the president, to comment and cause ¡°unnecessary misunderstanding.¡± Kim and Chung in the text of their agreement said people ¡°despair¡± of the ruling party and vowed to join hands with ¡°peaceful, reformative and future-oriented forces.¡± However, they promised to faithfully support the administration for the success of the government during Roh¡¯s remaining tenure. In response, lawmaker Lee Hwa-young, a Roh loyalist, blamed Kim and Chung for the failure of the ruling party, urging them to quit the party if they don¡¯t want to stay with it.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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