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? -------------- ¶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