CAMPAIGN SEASON BEGINS FOR ROK NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 000629 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KS KN SUBJECT: CAMPAIGN SEASON BEGINS FOR ROK NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ELECTION REF: SEOUL 574 Classified By: POL Joseph Y. Yun. Reasons 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The 13-day official campaign period for the April 9 general election began March 27, 2008. The short campaign period, coupled with a nomination process tainted by political infighting, makes it virtually impossible for any meaningful policy debate to take place. Voter turnout is expected to be record low. The Grand National Party (GNP) is hoping to clinch a comfortable majority, but its divisive nomination controversy is only the latest blow to the party's flagging momentum, which seemed unstoppable after Lee Myung-bak's easy win of the presidency last December. The opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) hopes to secure 100 seats -- the number needed to block a Constitutional revision. END SUMMARY. -------------- - GNP: LOSING MOMENTUM, YET ANTICIPATING VICTORY -------------- - ¶2. (SBU) During the GNP nomination process, a record 50 out of 128 (39.0 percent) incumbents were replaced. Of the 245 nominees, by faction, 157 pro-Lee Myung-bak candidates got the nod, about 3.6 times that of pro-Park Geun-hye nominees (44). Through the prolonged and contentious nomination process, the mainstream support base within the party tilted away from Park to President Lee. The nominations in the party's regional strongholds sent shockwaves; in Gyeongsang province and the Seoul-Gangnam districts, many heavyweights lost out to political newcomers. Some pro-Park incumbents left the party to run as independent candidates or to join either Lee Hoi-chang's Liberal Forward Party or the Pro-Park Alliance, a newly-formed party. Park Geun-hye sympathized and tacitly approved of their move, saying those who win should be allowed back to the GNP after April 9. The GNP leadership criticized her comments as a "serious detriment" to the party and Lee confidant Lee Bang-ho vowed the party would not take back the "deserters." ¶3. (SBU) In addition to factional infighting, controversy surrounding specific nominees has further roiled the waters. Ignoring public calls from prominent GNP lawmakers to step down, Lee Sang-deuk, Vice Speaker of the National Assembly and President Lee's elder brother, has decided to remain in the race. President Lee's confidant Lee Jae-o also decided to run after publicly contemplating withdrawing his �A;candidacy. Attempting to resolve the infighting, Kang Jae-sup, the party chairman, withdrew his candidacy. Meanwhile, GNP nominee Kim Taek-ki (Gangwon Province) was caught giving about 40,000 USD to a supporter, allegedly to buy votes, and withdrew his candidacy. Despite the infighting and wide criticism of the nomination process, the GNP is still expected by most pundits to win at least 150 seats, the threshold for a majority in the 299-member legislature. -------------- UDP: EVER-HOPEFUL UNDERDOG? -------------- ¶4. (U) The UDP has had its share of nomination woes. The party decided not to nominate former President Kim Dae-jung confidant Park Jie-won and Kim's son Kim Hong-eop, prompting them both to run as independents. While former President Kim called the nomination process unfair, UDP chairman Sohn Hak-kyu cautioned "senior leaders" against meddling in the elections. There were also open conflicts between party leadership and its nomination committee. Park Jae-seung, an attorney who chaired the nomination committee, has maintained a love-hate relationship with the party leadership due to his firm and drastic reform drive that drew favorable public support but faced internal resistance. Park refused to nominate anyone, even for a proportional seat, with past convictions for bribery or campaign finance violations. Still, the party's incumbent turnover rate remained at 20.5 percent, far lower than that of the GNP. ¶5. (U) Not surprisingly, UDP leader Sohn Hak-kyu's faction fared well in the district and proportional nomination process, with his group along with the 386-generation politicos in the Seoul Metropolitan area emerging as the new mainstream of the UDP. Pro-Roh Moo-hyun incumbents fared better than expected, but those from the former Democratic Party (before its merger with the United New Democratic Party) and Chung Dong-young's faction dwindled significantly. Chung's faction in particular was the target of replacement in Jeolla region, the party's traditional support base. ¶6. (U) In an attempt to garner more support for the party, heavyweights Chung Dong-young and Sohn Hak-kyu announced their candidacies in Seoul districts despite knowing they would not likely win. As expected, they are both losing in polls by almost 20 points -- Chung against GNP's Chung Mong-joon and Sohn against GNP's Park Jin. Still, hoping to take advantage of the GNP's recent infighting and convince voters they must check the power of President Lee and the GNP, the UDP hopes for 100 seats, the number needed to block a Constitutional amendment that requires a two-thirds approval of the National Assembly. -------------- - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS: VOTER CYNICISM PREVALENT -------------- - ¶7. (U) Voter turnout is expected to be record low, around 50 percent. For the 54 seats to be determined by overall party support (each voter casts two votes on separate, different-colored ballots - one for the candidate and one for the party),the GNP list showed the party's consideration for the underprivileged with a larger number of nominees with social work experience, while the UDP paid more attention to regions, factions and experts from different fields. For example, to highlight its commitment to economic revitalization, the UDP nominated Lee Sung-nam, a female financial expert, at the top of its proportional list. Former Foreign Minister Song Min-soon was nominated fourth (reftel) on the list, meaning he is virtually assured of a seat. Meanwhile, the GNP nominated Kang Myung-soon, a female pastor and activist, as its top proportional candidate and former Defense Minister Kim Jang-soo at number six. ¶8. (U) The official campaign period is unusually short -- less than two weeks -- due to the delayed nomination process that overlapped with the launch of a new government. Partly because the parties have been too busy infighting, there have been no discussions on foreign or domestic policy, or even about one of Lee's key campaign pledges, the Grand Canal project. Ironically, the GNP, the author of the canal project, is trying to avoid the topic, mindful of the polls that show overwhelming resistance to the plan. For the same reason, the UDP continues to attempt to make an issue out of it. Indicative of sentiment against the canal, former Presidential candidate Moon Kuk-hyun is currently besting, by a comfortable margin, the GNP's canal champion Lee Jae-o in Seoul-Eunpyong; also contributing to Lee's downfall is his close association with the LMB faction responsible for denying nominations to close associates of Park Geun-hye. -------------- STATISTICALLY SPEAKING -------------- ¶9. (U) With 1,119 registered candidates in 245 districts nationwide, the competition rate stands at 4.6 to 1, slightly lower than the previous election. Competition for proportional representative seats is 3.5 to 1, with 190 candidates from 15 political parties vying for 54 seats. The Grand National Party nominated candidates for all 245 districts, while the United Democratic Party nominated 197, letting the GNP and former GNP lawmakers fight it out in much of the Gyeongsang Provinces. Female candidates (132) accounted for 11.8 percent, and of all age groups, those in their 40s accounted for 39.2 percent, with 439 candidates. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶10. (C) Ten days to go before the election, President Lee and the GNP get poor grades in managing the campaign. Two months ago, pollsters projected that the GNP would win 200-220 seats; now they project 150-170 seats. This is still a majority, but a far cry from the resounding validation President Lee anticipated. Correspondingly, the left, represented by the United Democratic Party, is alive and well, contrary to predictions that Roh Moo-hyun had dealt the party a death blow. VERSHBOW