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Lawmakers who have been eliminated from the Grand National Party¡¯s nomination list are leaving the party in droves. They are usually lawmakers who are close to former GNP leader Park Geun-hye. They said they will form an independent coalition in the GNP¡¯s stronghold region of Gyeongsang and a pro-Park coalition in Seoul to run for the National Assembly. Even former President Kim Young-sam, who had been supporting President Lee Myung-bak, supported the defectors, saying the GNP needed to be taught a lesson in respect. What we¡¯re seeing is a major split in the ruling party.
The side effects of party nominations are common occurrences in any political group. But the crisis in the GNP has gone beyond normal limits. The defectors are spread out in the Gyeongsang and Seoul regions and many of them are formidable candidates. Depending on the region, there is the possibility of independent candidates competing with the GNP for National Assembly seats. Even if they are not elected, defectors from the Seoul region will take away many votes from the GNP. This is a bad omen for the party, which has been saying that winning a majority of the seats in parliament is the only way for the Lee administration to set sail smoothly.
You cannot of course force a lawmaker to accept defeat simply because he or she has been eliminated from the nomination list. It is up to them to decide whether they will run as an independent or not, to face the judgement of voters.
But the behavior of a few of the GNP defectors is far from dignified. Defectors from the Seoul region say they will join a minor party en masse, take over, and eventually change the party¡¯s name to the ¡°Pro-Park Coalition.¡± They may think such a move will help them win votes, but the name ¡°Pro-Park Coalition¡± shows that the group is not public in nature, but private. And it is bizarre that the people who left the GNP will form a party that follows Park, who still remains in the conservative party. No matter how desperate the situation may be, these people should know what they should and shouldn¡¯t do.
Former president Kim probably has reason to be angry. But it is not proper for a former president to hurl such emotional invectives.
The GNP¡¯s leadership is responsible for causing this crisis. It claimed that the 38.5 percent elimination rate (42 lawmakers out of 109 replaced) on the nomination list was part of the party¡¯s reforms, but the whole affair smelled of favoritism. If you look closely at the nominees in the 245 districts, 157 are pro-Lee, and only 44 pro-Park. There is no way of avoiding criticism that the nomination process was aimed at turning the GNP into Lee¡¯s own party.
Furthermore, even among the pro-Lee candidates, those with ties to the key GNP officials in the Lee faction are said to have been nominated, while those who didn¡¯t were eliminated. This is the reality, but one key GNP official said the candidates he supported were eliminated and that he was frustrated. Another key GNP official said the party would not fail just because a few people defect. This immature behavior drives voters away from the GNP.
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