DP chairman announces candidacy for key Bundang seat

Posted on : 2011-03-31 14:36 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Analysts say the move is risky and strengthened the perception of the elections as a referendum of the Lee administration
 Mar. 30. (Photo by Kim Gyoung-ho)
Mar. 30. (Photo by Kim Gyoung-ho)

By Lee Se-young  

 

In a move that raised the stakes in next month’s by-elections, Democratic Party (DP) Chairman Sohn Hak-kyu announced during a press conference Wednesday that he will be running for the Bundang-B seat in Seongnam. Indeed, so risky was the situation that many said “He has burned the bridge behind him.”

Sohn strove to invoke the image heroic grandeur of a general just before a battle through the text of his statement.

“Today, I am announcing my candidacy for the Bundang-B by-election with the goal of affirming South Koreans’ hopes for a new country,” it read. “We cannot leave this country to our children the way it is now. We need to change the Republic of Korea. I will not shy away from that responsibility.”

In a short speech measuring just over 1,000 Korean characters, Sohn used the words Daehanminguk, Republic of Korea, a full fifteen times. Regarding the reason for his decision, Sohn said it was to obtain “agreement from Bundang District residents” on “the conviction that everyone in the Republic of Korea needs to prosper together.” Sohn presented the tentative presidential campaign slogan of “A World Where We Live Together,” and showed indications of a strategy to target South Koreans as a whole more than local residents with his campaign.

Toward the end of the press conference, Sohn said, “I believe the way to victory is for the general to stand at the front fighting rather than remaining at the rear.”

The entry of the chairman of the leading opposition party added considerably to tone of the April 27 by-elections as an “interim evaluation” of the Lee Myung-bak administration.

A second term DP lawmaker said, “Given that it is an election taking place in the greater Seoul area, which is referred to as a barometer for public sentiment, and with a leading opposition party presidential contender in the race, it now has a different meaning and weight from other by-elections.”

For Sohn himself, the race for the Bundang-B seat has also seemingly become a practice exam for the 2012 presidential election, as it will provide him with an opportunity to gauge the “greater Seoul competitiveness” he counts as his greatest asset. Many observers say a victory could lead to a rebound in his support ratings, which are currently hovering below 10 percent. Predictions were mixed on the effect of a defeat. Some observers said a loss in Bundang would “not present any major burden,” while others predicted that it would hasten upheavals within the opposition party.

Analysts say Sohn appears to have determined that the overall political current is moving in a direction in which he could not refuse to run. With the Gangwon governorship taking shape as a “Lee Kwang-jae election” and Gimhae-B assuming a “Roh Moo-hyun election” frame, his judgment was that there was no other way besides running in Bundang for him to turn the by-elections into a “Sohn Hak-kyu election.”

In terms of its political effects, Sohn seemed unable to delay the decision any further. Since he had to run as a candidate anyway, analysts said, he would be better off making the decision before his image of “sacrifice” and “dedication” loses some of its luster.

“After all, with the Grand National Party stuck in internal strife with backbiting over candidate nominations, and the possibility of a run by former Prime Minister Chung Un-chan, which had been the ruling party’s leading card, looking fainter now due to the Shin Jeong-ah allegations, the situation is looking more and more favorable for Sohn Hak-kyu,” said political critic Kim Jong-bae.

With Sohn’s decision, the burden has increased for both the GNP and DP, with the possibility of either enjoying a clean sweep or suffering a complete rout in the April by-elections. Both parties now have to wage an all-out battle for victory on the three battlegrounds beyond Suncheon in Gangwon and the Bundang-B and Gimhae-B districts.

  

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