hankyoreh

compiled by the Internet portal Naver. From top left

On December 29, the Hankyoreh, along with Naver, South Korea’s top Internet search engine operator, looked at 2006 search statistics regarding Korea’s politicians.

According to the survey, Park Geun-hye, former leader of the main opposition Grand National Party and daughter of former dictator Park Chung-hee, was ranked the most searched politician, as she was a newsmaker due to her moves toward candidacy in next year’s presidential election, her party’s victory in local elections, her role in the political struggle over revising the so-called Private School Law, and a May attack in which she was slashed in the face with a box cutter on a campaign stop.

President Roh Moo-hyun placed second in the statistics. Despite his low approval rating, President Roh’s controversial remarks kept him in the monthly top 10 political searches for 11 out of 12 months of 2006.

Former Grand National lawmaker Choi Yeon-hee ranked third most searched politician; he made the news after being accused of groping a female reporter - and then responding in his defense that he "thought she was a waitress." Choi ranked first in political searches in the months of February and March.

Even though Park Geun-hye was the most searched politician overall, she failed to place first in any monthly search rankings. But the fact that she was under the media spotlight for all of 2006 helped her secure her number one spot. Her popularity was not all politically oriented, either. Sometimes, she garnered searches because of her fashion choices, including her hairstyle, reminiscent of that of her late mother.

Former Seoul city mayor Lee Myung-bak, who is now leading the polls among the potential 2007 presidential candidates, placed sixth in the political search data. However, Lee passed Park in the monthly rankings in October for the first time and held the top spot in November, boosted by his increased popularity.

Grand National lawmaker Park Gye-dong was ranked first in May when a hidden camera allegedly revealed him also groping a female at a bar - this time an actual waitress. He was ranked the most searched politician in May. Incumbent Seoul city mayor Oh Se-hoon and former justice minister Kang Geum-sil were ranked first and second in April, just before they were nominated as their respective party’s candidates for Seoul city mayor. Minor opposition Millennium Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Soon-hyeong was number one in July and August because of his victory in the July 26 by-elections. He failed in the 2004 general election because he was credited with trying in vain to impeach President Roh, but with the president’s approval ratings dropping precipitously in 2006, Cho received new attention for his role.

Presidential candidates from the ruling Uri Party showed poor performance in the search rankings. Uri Party leader Kim Geun-tae was ranked 10th in January when he was the Minister of Health and Welfare, and former unification minister Chung Dong-young placed eighth in January and sixth in February, just after he stepped down from the post. Former prime minister Goh Kun was ranked 10th in June and ninth in December.

Kookmin University professor Kim Hyeong-joon said that while the ruling party’s presidential candidates "drew attention in political circles, they are not popular in the cyber world."

December’s rankings showed that the five potential presidential candidates from the Grand National Party - Lee Myeong-bak, Park Geun-hye, Won hee-ryong, Lee Hoi-chang, and Sohn Hak-kyu - were all in the top 10 for online searches. However, in the ruling camp, besides President Roh, only former Prime Minister Goh Kun was ranked, coming in at ninth. Former president Park Chung-hee, assassinated in 1979, even came back for a cameo on the December top 10 political search list.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]