LEE UNVEILS OFFICIAL CAMPAIGN LEADERSHIP TEAM

UNCLAS SEOUL 003137 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KN KS PGOV PREL PINR SUBJECT: LEE UNVEILS OFFICIAL CAMPAIGN LEADERSHIP TEAM ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In forming his campaign leadership team, Grand National Party (GNP) presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak tried to combine both party members and outside figures in what he termed a "2 6" leadership formula - two campaign chairmen from within the party plus six co-chairs from outside. The camp features a horizontal structure, where each aide directly reports to Lee. Reflecting his extremely businesslike management style, the composition of his strategy team - younger, reformist, and pragmatic - is quite different than past "old-boy" GNP election camps. Meanwhile, Lee has made little progress in fulfilling promises to engage former GNP chairperson and primary runner-up Park Geun-hye and her supporters. End Summary. -------------- THE STRUCTURE: ALL ROADS LEAD TO LEE -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Lee's organization differs from the traditional vertical hierarchy common to past political camps which funneled all decisions through a second-in-command. Instead, Lee's campaign has a horizontal structure where many aides report directly to Lee. Some Lee camp members have privately expressed concern to poloffs that this could lead to infighting rather than engendering healthy competition within the camp. Lee himself, in another departure from the norm, assumed the chairmanship of two key campaign organizations: the Economic Revitalization Special Committee and the Strategic Public Relations Coordination Council. The lawmakers leading his campaign's regional chapters also report directly to Lee. ¶3. (SBU) One of Lee's key advisors who guided personnel decisions, Representative Chung Doo-un, said the campaign composition focused on policy-oriented outside experts rather than political figures. These experts are expected to counsel Lee on areas outside his expertise, e.g. foreign policy. Even in familiar territory like economics, Lee brought in former Woori Bank president and financial expert Hwang Young-ki to be Vice Chair of the Economic Revitalization Special Committee. -------------- CO-CHAIRS: FOCUS ON EXPERTISE -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The two party members who will head Lee's campaign are Kang Jae-sup, GNP Chairman, and Ahn Sang-soo, the GNP Floor Leader. The other co-chairmen are: Yoo Chong-ha, former Foreign Minister; Park Chan-mo, former POSTECH president; Bae Eun-hee, President & CEO of Lizen Biotech; and Kim Sung-yi, professor at Ewha Womans University. Lee still intends to name two more co-chairs from outside to fulfill his "2 6" leadership plan. Each outside co-chair is assigned to different policy area: Yoo Chong-ha on Foreign Affairs and National Security; Park Chan-mo on Education, Science and Technology; Bae Eun-hee on Future New Industry; and Kim Sung-yi on Social Welfare. (NOTE: Yoo Chong-ha was Foreign Minister (1996-98) in the Kim Young-sam Administration.) ¶5. (SBU) Regardless of the launch of an official campaign organization, the four most influential Lee Myung-bak advisers will likely retain their power. They are: Lee Sang-deuk, Vice Speaker of the National Assembly and Lee's elder brother; Choi See-joong, former Gallup Korea chairman; Lee Jae-o, GNP Supreme Council Member; and Chung Doo-un, GNP lawmaker. Lee Jae-o is Lee's Vice Chairman in charge of Strategic Public Relations, and Chung Doo-un is the Control Officer of the Strategic Planning Department, a key component of the organization. The supreme - albeit informal -- decision-making body of the camp is the "six-member council," comprised of Lee Myung-bak, Lee Sang-deuk, Choi See-joong, former National Assembly Vice Speaker Park Hee-tae, Lee Jae-o and GNP lawmaker Kim Deog-ryong. They are said to meet twice a week. -------------- ACADEMIC ADVISORS -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Some of the academics and former government officials on Lee's policy advisory team include: -- Policy Oversight and Counsel: Kang Man-soo, former Vice Finance Minister; Sakong Il, Chairman & CEO of the Institute of Global Economics (and former Finance Minister under President Chun Doo-whan); and Ahn Byung-man, former President of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, -- Policy coordination: Ryu Woo-ik, Seoul National University; and Baek Yong-ho, Ewha Women's University, -- Foreign affairs: Kim Woo-sang, Yonsei University; Hyun In-taek, Korea University; Nam Sung-wook, Korea University; Kim Tae-hyo, Sungkyunkwan University; Lee Jung-min, Yonsei University; Kim Dong-sung, Chung Ang University; Nam Joo-hong, Kyunggi University; and Cho Joong-bin at Kookmin University, -- Economy: Kwak Seung-joon, Korea University, who is also Lee's chief policy aide; Yoo Jang-hee at Ewha Women's University; and Kang Myung-heon, Dankuk University, -- Canal project: Cho Won-chul, Yonsei University; and Song Jae-woo, Hongik University. -------------- CAMPAIGN AIDES: A NEW GENERATION -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Many of Lee's aides are former student activists now in their 40's, not the conservative old guard the public is used to from GNP campaigns. -- Lee Tae-kyu, Strategy Planning Chief Aide, is a student activist-turned election strategist. He started his political career with the Democratic Party in 1990, but later joined the GNP in 1997. After working (2004-2005) at the Yoido Institute, a GNP think tank, he worked as a planning chief for Oh Se-hoon during his Seoul Mayoral campaign in ¶2006. -- Kwak Seung-joon, Policy Chief Aide and Professor of Economics at Korea University, is a Lee policy advisor. They have known each other since the late 1990s, discussed policy issues beginning when Lee ran for Seoul Mayor in 2002, and have had weekly "study sessions" since 2004. Kwak coordinates on most of Lee's policy pledges. As Chief Editor of the Korea University Newspaper for six years now, Kwak also tries to keep in close contact with the younger generation. -- Chung Tae-geun, Organization Chief Aide, started out as a staffer for Lee's rival Hong Sa-duk in the GNP's 2002 nomination race for Seoul Mayor. It was Lee who first reached out to Chung after that election. Chung joined the GNP in 2000 in the run-up to the 16th general elections, and he twice ran and lost in bids for National Assembly seats in 2000 and 2004. After being appointed Vice Seoul Mayor for Political Affairs in 2005, Chung was instrumental in pushing forward many of Lee's major projects, including the Chonggyechon stream project, and in defending against negative attacks. -- Ji Seung-rim, Chief Public Relations Aide, is the only chief aide in his 50's. A former executive at Samsung Group, Ji is known for his brilliance in shaping, fine-tuning, and publicizing policies. Some of his products include Lee's "7-4-7" economic policy and the idea to transform the reclaimed land of Saemangeum into a Korean version of Dubai. Former Vice Finance Minister Kang Man-soo introduced Ji to Lee. -- Jin Sung-ho, Chief New Media Aide, was originally a reporter at the Chosun Ilbo specializing in media and the internet. MB and Jin are said to have become friends while "fighting" - Jin posted an internet article critical of Lee in 2005, Lee protested, and they became occasional contacts. Now Jin serves as MB's sparring partner; he played opposite Lee to prepare for the "verification hearings" in the run-up to the party primary. -- Kim Hae-su, Deputy Chief of Staff, is another student activist-turned politician. He first joined politics in 1996 as an assistant to Representative Ahn Sang-soo, current Floor Leader of the GNP. Later he was an aide to former GNP chairman Lee Hoi-chang and was media chief in the 2002 election. Kim first met Lee Myung-bak in 1996, but got on board in earnest in 2002 when Lee ran for Seoul Mayor. Representative Lee Jae-o was crucial in getting him into the camp. -- Park Dae-won, Senior Foreign Relations Advisor, was formerly Ambassador (2002-2005) to Algeria, and Foreign Relations Advisor (2005-2006) to Lee Myung-bak when he was Seoul Mayor. He also hails from Lee's hometown of Pohang. -------------- CONTINUING RIFT WITH PARK -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Rival and runner-up in the GNP Primary Park Geun-hye was named Standing Advisor to the Lee campaign and other close Park aides were given symbolic roles. Representative Kim Moo-sung was named Vice Chairman of the campaign and Representative Choi Kyung-hwan, Executive Manager of the Economic Revitalization Special Committee. However, Park does not seem ready yet to actively campaign for Lee. She recently complained her aides are being ostracized and excluded from key posts. As long as Lee's approval ratings stay above 50 percent, the importance of support from Park and her followers diminishes considerably. Nevertheless, Lee and Kim Moo-sung, Park's closest aide, recently shared soju at a street-side bar in Busan to help bridge the gap between the two camps. VERSHBOW