» lawmakers from Park’s faction discuss a way to found a party or to form a group of independents in a restaurant in Yeouido, Seoul on March 14.

The ruling Grand National Party’s candidate selection process has met with strong resistance from a minority faction led by former chairwoman Park Geun-hye. The lawmakers, who lost their chance at nomination after the party began eliminating people who have past records of corruption, declared one after another on March 14 that they would run as independents in the upcoming April 9 National Assembly election.

According to an analysis of the political leanings of the GNP candidates in the 216 places, out of a total of 245 local electorates, in which this round of nominations were decided, more than 140 hopefuls are confidants of President Lee Myung-bak, while approximately 40 are known to be loyal to Park. Most of the 25 candidates who were selected over incumbent lawmakers to run in the National Assembly election are viewed as belonging to President Lee’s faction. The Yeongnam area encompasses the North and South Gyeongsang Provinces and is a conservative stronghold.

The results of the GNP’s selection process appear to be connected with an attempt by the party leadership to transform the GNP into a party of the president. The fallout is expected to increase, as key members of the GNP reportedly have a plan to replace most of the incumbent lawmakers in seven electoral districts in southern Seoul, known to be the most conservative part of the city.

In the press conference in which the announcement was made, Rep. Kim Moo-sung, a close confidant of Park Geun-hye, maintained that Cheong Wa Dae, or the Blue House, had interfered in the selection process. Kim criticized the party when he said the nominations had been made following the intentions of the presidential office. “A party that should be free of presidential power chose candidates to run in the elections according to the president’s will,” Kim said. “The rival party is impressing people in the course of its nomination process, while the GNP has been emotional in selecting its candidates.” The lawmaker added that the selection criteria had been decided by the presidential office.

In the run-up to the election, the main, opposition United Democratic Party has been ridding its ranks of lawmakers known to have been involved in corruption, and hopes to win voters over with promises that its candidates, if elected, will keep the government and the majority party in check.

Both parties have formed separate committees to vet candidates for the election, with nominees selected by a set of criteria determined by their individual selection committees. This has created a great deal of controversy within both parties as they race to finalize their candidate lists with enough time for those selected to campaign, while trying to outdo one another with just how much reform they can achieve.

Park Geun-hye strongly criticized the candidate selection process for the Gyeongsang Provinces, according to Lee Jung-hyun, a close aide to Park. Lawmakers from Park’s faction met on March 14 to discuss a way to start a new party or to form a group of independents after breaking with the party, but were unable to reach a conclusion, said a politician who participated in the meeting, but asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the issue.

On the previous day, the GNP’s supreme council, the party’s primary decision-making body, approved 51 candidates selected by the party's selection committee to run in the Gyeongsang Provinces. The council requested that the selection committee reexamine eight of the candidates. GNP spokeswoman Na Kyung-won remarked that the eight lawmakers have criminal records or had once broken with the party to run in the election as independents or candidates for another party.

The GNP’s selection committee is also planning to choose candidates for seven electorates in Gangnam, its key stronghold, on March 16, but most of the seven incumbent lawmakers are expected to be replaced. An official of the party said, “As far as I know, top party leaders and key members of the screening committee met at the presidential office and were near agreement on changing most of the incumbent lawmakers in Gangnam.”

The GNP’s ethics committee plans to convene a meeting on March 16 to examine figures whose qualifications have been questioned. The ethics committee plans to convey the list candidates to be disqualified to the party's supreme council soon.

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