ROK PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE LEE MYUNG-BAK:

UNCLAS SEOUL 000331 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KS PGOV PINR PREL SUBJECT: ROK PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE LEE MYUNG-BAK: CONSERVATIVE POLITICS, PROGRESSIVE HEART? ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Former Seoul Mayor and opposition Grand National Party (GNP) Presidential Candidate Lee Myung-bak is topping the charts with 44.6 percent approval ratings, according to a January 30 Donga Ilbo Newspaper poll. Promising affordable homes for newly married couples, jobs for all and programs for the homeless, he has garnered support not just from the conservative GNP supporters but also the traditional progressive party base. The younger generation is attracted by his life story and "can do" attitude and admires his accomplishments as Seoul Mayor and his successes at Hyundai. His miraculous rise from a destitute upbringing to Hyundai CEO to leading presidential candidate inspires many, and his amazing life story is the source of much of his current support. End Summary Leader of Hope -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Lee Myung-bak has a natural and captivating speech style that is more folksy and personal than that of the other candidates, poloff has observed. Lee plays crowds well and as the charismatic presidential front-runner, receives rock star treatment wherever he goes. Lee delivers lessons through anecdotes and lays out his future policy plans by highlighting what he did as Seoul Mayor or Hyundai CEO. Some have said that his speeches are sermon-like in their pace and theme. Currently, he is working to depict himself as a "leader of hope." The business cards of Anguk Forum, a think tank which currently serves as Lee's de facto campaign headquarters until he launches his official campaign in February, represent Lee's campaign slogan. "Anguk" in Korean is defined as "peaceful nation." The open door on the business cards symbolizes an "open door to the future." Campaign Inertia: Danger in Size? -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Lee has a well-financed campaign with over 100 formal and informal staff, and an impressive network of lawmakers supporting his candidacy at the National Assembly. However, there are rumors of controversies and infighting within the organization. Pundits have compared the struggles within the Forum to the troubles Lee Hoe-chang's camp suffered in the 2002 presidential election when there was infighting over prospective Blue House positions before the election. Up until mid-January 2007, numbers were written on the business cards that tracked the order in which people had joined Lee Myung-bak's campaign. However, rumor was that the numbers represented in rank order who was closest to Lee. GNP United? -------------- ¶4. (SBU) In a speech Lee delivered in Busan on January 23 that poloff observed, Lee said that the greatest challenge facing the GNP was uniting behind one candidate for the 2007 presidential election. To this end, he complimented the other two leading GNP presidential hopefuls and proclaimed that he would not participate in any negative campaigns. His recent comment that women who have no children have no authority to speak on educational reform was not directed at Park Geun-hye and was taken out of context, he insisted. He added that the comment was highlighted by the media since "a fight sells papers." He vowed he would be more careful in future speeches. Most pundits agree that if either Lee or Park leave the GNP to form a new party, it would open the door for a ruling party candidate, much as in 1997 when Rhee In-je and Lee Hoe-chang split the GNP vote and this led to Kim Dae-jung's election. ¶5. (SBU) One of Lee Myung-bak's leading advisors at the National Assembly, GNP lawmaker Chung Doo-un, told poloff that Lee's greatest hurdle to overcome was himself - to physically keep up the hectic campaigning pace he has already begun until December and also to avoid making a mistake in a speech. Pundits say the "bulldozer" faces many challenges, from possible past misdeeds to, in the age of the internet and UCC (user created content),his off-the-cuff speaking style, either of which could lead to deflation of the support he now enjoys. Rags to Riches -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Lee Myung-bak was born into an abjectly poor farming household in 1941 in Osaka, Japan and came to Pohang in 1945 after Korea was liberated. Lee had to earn a living working odd jobs since his elementary school years; adding sulfur covers to matches and selling them, and selling street snacks such as fried silkworms. His mother allowed him to attend high school at night as long as he was able to receive a scholarship by remaining the top student. Lee jokes that he was able to maintain the number one rank in his class not because of his smarts but because no one in his class had the time to study. His mother told him not to be embarrassed to sell snacks and be proud because he was earning an honest living. He said his dream was always to have a stable job and he thought that with a job, no matter the pay, comes happiness. Hence, at the heart of his economic platform is job creation for all ages and at all wage levels. ¶7. (SBU) After coming to Seoul to earn money after high school, while working as a laborer, he studied with used books he bought at used bookstores near Cheonggye Stream, and graduated from prestigious Korea University with a BA in business management. While serving as the student council president in 1964, he was arrested for leading a protest against the ROK-Japan normalization of diplomatic relations, which many students then considered an unfair agreement. He was released after serving six months in jail. The Lucky Exchange -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Due to his imprisonment, Lee could not get a job upon graduation. Therefore he wrote a heartfelt letter to then President Park Chung-hee (father of Lee's GNP opponent Park Geun-hye) saying, "If a government hinders an individual's way of life, then the government would be forever indebted to that individual." According to first hand accounts, the Blue House staff directly intervened due to Lee's impassioned letter and decided to pardon him. Thanks to this pardon, he was able to enter Hyundai Construction Company, on the condition that he would "behave." ¶9. (SBU) In speeches, Lee recalls that Chung Joo-young, then Chairman of Hyundai Group, asked him one question in his job interview, "What is construction?" to which Lee responded with, "Construction is creation." After the interview Lee said that Chung used this phrase in many speeches. While the phrase may have been his ticket into the Hyundai Group, lore has it that former President Park Chung-hee approached Chung about hiring Lee and during the brief exchange between Park and Chung, there was miscommunication where Park's warning of "look out for him" was interpreted to mean "take care of him." This conversation is another factor, if true, that could have contributed to Lee's quick rise at Hyundai. Miraculous Success -------------- ¶10. (SBU) Once MB (as he is known to most) became a "Hyundai-man," his capabilities as a manager began to show. He became a member of the board (managing director) in five years and president of Hyundai Construction Company in 12 years at the age of 35. He became the model for the dream of success that many salary men aspired to in the 1980s and 1990s. His life story was so compelling that in 1991 KBS produced a drama about Lee's life, "Times of Ambition" and MBC followed up with a drama in 2004, "Times of Heroes." According to Lee, the 1991 drama was 95 percent accurate in its depiction of his life and his relation to Hyundai Chairman Chung Joo-young. Lee currently has three biographies out, two on his life ("There is No Myth" and "I See Hope, When Others Talk Despair") and one about his time as Seoul Mayor ("Cheonggye Stream Flows Towards the Future"). On to Politics -------------- ¶11. (SBU) In 1992 he shifted to politics and won a proportional representation seat in the National Assembly for the then-ruling Democratic Liberal Party. He successfully won re-election in 1996 from the Jongro district in Seoul, defeating candidate Roh Moo-hyun and Lee Jong-chan. Lee highlights in speeches the fact he beat President Roh in 1996 as a relatively unknown politician. Seoul Mayor: A Man with a Plan -------------- ¶12. (SBU) As the Mayor of Seoul from 2002-2006, Lee completed the Cheonggye stream restoration project that uncovered uncovered a 3.5-mile stretch of the stream. Since the stream was reopened in October 2005 after fifty years under concrete, millions of visitors have walked along the stream. This project thrust him onto the national political stage and made him an instant presidential favorite. Lee has frequently stated that when he pitched the Cheonggye stream restoration project people thought it was impossible; however, he declared he does not make empty promises and he boasts of the realization of this project despite doubters. Hoping to further capitalize on the success of Cheonggye stream restoration project, he has proposed as one of his main campaign pledges a canal project connecting Seoul, Busan, Incheon, and eventually Pyongyang. Even though there are waterways that conceivably could connect Busan to Seoul except one 20-mile stretch, many see the canal project as technically impossible and likely to generate huge opposition from environmental groups. ¶13. (SBU) Lee says the Cheonggye stream restoration project and re-organizing the bus system were the projects he receives the most acclaim for but are not what he is most proud. Instead, Lee says that helping homeless people find jobs and restoring the underdeveloped areas of Seoul were his biggest achievements as Seoul Mayor. Comment -------------- ¶14. (SBU) Having won mass appeal through his CEO past and achievements as Seoul Mayor, Lee will focus on the economy in his campaigning until the Spring when he will start to address more specific foreign policy issues, Lee's advisors told poloff. If the presidential election were held today, Lee would likely win. However, with over 10 months left until the election, the race is far from over. Lee's camp, as confident as they are, commented that they will not make the mistake Lee Hoe-chang made and be secure with a lead in the polls. (Note: In Donga's January 30 poll, Lee had a 26.4 percent lead over the second-place candidate Park Geun-hye and 43.1 percent lead over the nearest ruling party candidate, Chung Dong-young. End Note). However Lee does in December, he brings a unique and captivating life story and personal style and as the clear front-runner, has everyone talking about what kind of person he is and what kind of leader he might become. VERSHBOW