By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter

Park Geun-hye won a landslide victory on Tuesday to become the new chairman of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP), which is locked in its worst-ever crisis due to the leading role it played in the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun.

The 52-year-old, the country’s first female leader of a majority party in 39 years, got an overall 51.8 percent approval rating in the election, followed by distant runner-up Hong Sa-duk, who garnered overall support of 28.8 percent.

``I will do my best to meet the people’s expectations and turn the GNP into a party of pragmatism that can embrace a broader spectrum of ideology,’’ Park told reporters. ``I hope people will give us one more chance in the April 15 general elections.’’ However, she said that she didn’t have any intention to withdraw the Roh impeachment motion.

The top priority for the daughter of late President Park Chung-hee is to unite the party split by anti-impeachment calls from within and boost its below 20 percent approval rating. The pro-government Uri Party enjoys approval ratings over 50 percent due to the backlash for the GNP’s push on the Roh impeachment.

``Public support for the GNP has gotten tremendously worse,’’ said Park, a native of the party’s stronghold, Kyongsang Province. ``I humbly accept the people’s criticism against us. But I will try my best to renew the party, so the people’s conception of the party can change.’’

The new leader said she will not use the current party headquarters located in Yoido, Seoul, as a way to show her resolution to reform the corruption-tainted party. ``I will sell the party building (to pay back the illegal funds) and rent an office,’’ Park said. ``If this is impossible, I will set up a make-shift tent to use as a headquarters.’’

Her victory was an upset for many party members, who had expected a runoff race to take place between Park and Hong. Hong’s defeat, however, was somewhat predicted as the party would not want to further deteriorate the sentiment against the GNP by giving the top post to the fifth-term lawmaker who spearheaded the party’s attempt to unseat the president.

Park’s leadership, which will end this June, will likely face tougher tasks in mapping out strategies to win the parliamentary polls and addressing some reform-minded party members’ demands to withdraw the on-going impeachment procedures against the president.

She, however, made it clear that she has no mind to repeal the party’s decision to impeach the president. ``There was no other option but to impeach him,’’ Park said. ``Everybody should respect the judgment of the Constitutional Court. It’s a process to develop the country’s democracy.’’

The GNP will hold the biannual regular convention in June to once again elect a chairman with a full term of two years. Park is considered to have already secured a vantage point for the full-term leadership.

A total of 1,359 delegates, or 53.9 percent, of the total 2,522-member electoral college voted for Park, who also received 49.75 percent of approval rating at an opinion poll that was taken a day earlier.

The election system combined the two results of a vote by delegates and a public opinion poll in equal measure. The opinion poll was carried out on a total of 2,000 prospective voters across the country on Monday and, in a way not to affect delegates, the result was announced after the voting was closed.

More than half of the GNP’s 4,457-strong delegation attended the convention. Party members guessed that many of the absentees were those who have objections to the party’s screening process on the standard-bearers for the April elections.

Kim Moon-soo, who demanded the party pull the impeachment bid, made a late rally and received an overall approval of 12.0 percent. But it was difficult for him to overcome the lack of support from party loyalists, who largely thought that revoking the impeachment bid would be political suicide.

Park Jin and Kwon Oh-eul each got overall approvals of 4.2 percent and 3.2 percent. Both, however, left a sure message to the people that they are to be the next leaders of the party.

The Chamsil Gymnasium where the convention was held was palpable with excitement and concern in equal measures, with hope on the one hand for the new leader to rejuvenate the party and the other, reflecting the GNP’s dismal outlook three weeks ahead of the spring polls.


im@koreatimes.co.kr