THE GRAND NATIONAL PARTY - LEADERSHIP RESHUFFLE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 002475

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/19/2011
TAGS: PGOV KS
SUBJECT: THE GRAND NATIONAL PARTY - LEADERSHIP RESHUFFLE


Classified By: A/DCM Joseph Y. Yun. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: On July 11 at the Grand National Party (GNP)
convention, five-term National Assembly member Kang Jae-sup
was elected GNP Chairman. Along with Kang, four GNP Supreme
Council members were elected. On July 18, Kang nominated two
more members to the Council and appointed the head of the
Yeouido Institute, a GNP think tank, the GNP Secretary
General, Assistant Secretary General and two spokespeople.
The remaining two seats on the council were decided July 13
and they are Floor Leader Kim Hyoung-woo and Chief Policy
Maker Rep. Jeon Jae-hee. The new leadership is viewed as
conservative, supportive of Park Geun-hye's presidential
candidacy. Below we highlight the new GNP leaders. END
SUMMARY

CHAIRMAN KANG - PARK GEUN-HYE'S MAN?
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2. (SBU) Kang Jae-sup, GNP Chairman-Elect: Kang is a
native of the North Gyeongsang province. After a stint as a
prosecutor, in 1980, Kang was appointed as Blue House
Judicial Secretary. In 1988, he was elected to the National
Assembly as a member of former President Roh Tae-woo's
Democratic Liberal Party. He has served in five consecutive
Assemblies as a representative of the western region of Daegu
Metropolitan City. In 2005, Kang became the GNP minority
floor leader. At present, Kang is a member of the Science,
Technology, Information and Telecommunications Committee. He
is known to be a close ally of his predecessor, Park
Geun-hye. Kang received 5,254 (24.98 percent) of a total
7,599 votes in the GNP national convention held July 11.
Kang announced in a victory speech that, "Under my
leadership, there is going to be no more identity crisis for
the GNP and its members. Except for pro-North Korean leftists
and corrupt forces in society, we can cooperate with
anybody." Kang is a noted conservative within the party. He
has pledged to reform the controversial private school reform
law passed in May, 2006. According to his chief of staff,
Kang will lead from the middle and will provide steady
leadership for the GNP.

SAD SECOND
--------------


3. (SBU) Lee Jae-Oh: Lee placed second in the party
Chairman race. He led in opinion polls and had the backing of
former Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak. Lee began his career as a
high school teacher and is a former pro-democracy activist
who spent nearly ten years in prison for violating the
National Security Law. He has served three terms in the
National Assembly, representing the Eunpyeong-gu district of
Seoul. At present, he sits on the House Steering, National
Policy, and Intelligence Committees. Since his defeat July
11, Lee protested what he called illegal campaigning during
the leadership race by going to a Buddhist temple in southern
Korea for five days. He attacked Kang for mudslinging, and
particularly took offense to Kang's characterization of Lee
as an activist, many years after he converted to the
conservative GNP. Lee returned to the Supreme Council on
July 18 and publicly made up with Kang. In a gesture of
reconciliation, Kang Jae-sup appointed Lee's close aide, An
Kyung-yul, as deputy secretary general of the party. Lee had
greater popularity than Kang due to the recognition he gained
from seven months as the GNP Floor Leader, but the GNP
Chairman's race was decided by 70% GNP party delegates' votes
and 30% poll results.

THE REST OF THE NEW GNP LEADERS
--------------


4. (SBU) Kang Chang-hee: Kang is a five-time legislator
and a native of Daejeon who has considerable support base in
the Chungchong provinces. He is also considered to be close
to Park Geun-hye. In 2001, Kang was a GNP party
vice-chairman. Kang has a military background and previously
taught at the ROK Army College.


5. (SBU) Chun Yun-Ok: Chun is currently serving her first
term as legislator, a position she acquired through a
proportional representation vote. She is a former KBS
reporter, known for her harsh and unrestrained criticism of
the Uri Party. She has been a close aide to Park Geun-hye
and is a member of the Gender Equality and Family Committee
and the Science, Technology, Information and
Telecommunications Committee. Rep. Chun told poloff that she
would represent the reform wing of the GNP and thought that
the Council would act responsibly and independent of Park
Geun-hye.


6. (SBU) Chung Hyung-keun: Chung is a third-term
legislator from the northern part of Busan, KangSeo-ku
district. He is a member of the Intelligence and Health and
Welfare Committees. Among the most conservative members of
the National Assembly, Chung has been a thorn to former
President Kim Dae-Jang and President Roh, characterizing
their North Korea policy as "appeasement."


7. (SBU) Kwon Young-se: Kwon is currently serving his
second term as a representative from the Yeongdeungpo-gu
district in Seoul. He is on the Unification, Foreign Affairs
and Trade, and Intelligence Committees. Along with Han
Young, he was most recently appointed to the GNP Supreme
Council. Kwon is considered the only person from the
reform-minded camp to advance to the leadership panel. Kwon
ran and came in sixth as the single candidate of the "Young
Turks" reform-minded branch of the GNP.


8. (SBU) Han Young: Media sources say that Han was chosen
to sit on the Supreme Council because of her support base in
Gwangju where she had previously run for mayor. Han is a
noted figure in the Jeolla provinces where the GNP
traditionally has weak support.


9. (SBU) Yeouido Institute: Founded in 1995, the Yeouido
Institute (YDI) is a think-tank established to support GNP
policy development and to study strategies and visions for a
more advanced Korea. Only July 18, Rep. Yim Tae-hee was
appointed as the new head of YDI. Yim is considered a close
ally of Kang Jae-sup who served as a vice-floor leader when
Kang was floor leader. A second-term lawmaker, Yim is
considered a reformist party member.


10. (SBU) Kim Hyoung-o: Rep. Kim was elected by a 67-50 vote
as GNP floor leader on July 13 and is seen by most as a Park
Geun-hye ally. He is from the southeast and represents a
district in southern Busan.


11. (SBU) Jeon Jae-hee: The second term lawmaker from
Gyeongsang Province represents Gwang Myoung city in South
Gyeonggi Province. She took over the Chief Policy Maker
position on July 13 and is another Park Geun-hye ally.

COMMENT
--------------

12. (C) Because the GNP's new Supreme Council has significant
influence over next year's intra-party contest to select a
presidential candidate, the power struggle over who will sit
on the Council was viewed by all as a proxy war between the
party's two leading presidential hopefuls- Park Geun-hye and
Lee Myung-bak. While Rep. Kwon and Rep. Han may add balance
to the conservative council, the outcome of GNP leadership
reshuffle was favorable for Park as six out of the nine
Council members are strong Park supporters. Moreover, the
five elected members of the Supreme Council all hail from
Gyeongsang Province, a traditional GNP stronghold, indicating
that regionalism continues to be a key factor in South Korean
politics. Mistrustful of the GNP leadership, many, including
former Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak have called for an open
primary rather than the closed one-day convention selection
process dominated by party rank-and-file. The Uri Party has
already adopted an open primary system for the 2007 election.


VERSHBOW