hankyoreh

By Hwang Joon-bum, staff reporter

New Frontier Party (NFP) lawmaker Lee Jae-oh recently announced his intentions to run for the NFP candidacy in December’s presidential election.

“It is hard to believe that someone has leadership only because she is a woman. Especially when she has not experienced the reality of the divided country and not fulfilled the military duty,” said Lee at a press conference at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents’ Club.

“What do you think of female leadership in terms of political development in Korea?” a reporter from Japan’s Sankei newspaper asked. Lee answered, “I think it is premature unless South and North Korea are reunified.”

Lee’s statement was apparently aimed at Park Geun-hye, the only female candidate for South Korea’s presidency.

“When people think of female leadership, they think of soft and sensitive leadership. But those attributes are parts of humane leadership, which I advocate. It doesn’t necessarily mean only women can have these attributes,” said Lee.

After Lee’s remark, he explained that his remarks weren’t aimed at anyone in particular. But the figures close to Park thought Lee‘s remarks were aimed at her.

On June 19, at an NFP lawmakers’ general meeting at the National Assembly, Park asked, “Is there anyone who still thinks like that in the 21st century?”

“Lee is a presidential hopeful but his statement was negative, anti-social and even anti-modern,” said Cho won-jin, an NFP lawmaker and close aide of Park. “I don’t think he is so old that he has lost his mind. For the party, it was definitely imprudent of him to say that”

“National security is determined by patriotism and sound national views, not by gender,” said Lee Hye-hoon, a female lawmaker associated with Park and an NFP supreme council member. “It was a female Prime Minister Golda Meir who led Israel to victory in the Yom Kippur War.”

A close associate of Park said, “His statement was rude. His opinion is too anachronistic to believe that he once participated in the pro-democracy movement.” Some of Lee Jae-oh’s staffs also agreed that Lee’s statement was in bad taste.

On June 19, however, Lee Jae-oh escalated the conflict by saying, “She was a very influential person in Park Chung-hee’s Yushin regime in the 1970s.”

In an interview with Edaily, an online newspaper, Lee said, “During the Yushin regime, she served as first lady after her mother passed away.”

He added, “Park has never repented or reflected on the Yushin dictatorship and her involvement in it. She still glamorizes the regime, which distorts Korea‘s modern history.”

Lee provoked Park, directly mentioning the Yushin regime and President Park Chung-hee, which Park has thought of as the most sensitive issue for the coming presidential election.

Lee also criticized Park, using such words ‘obstinate, stubborn, and dictatorial’ when it comes to the NFP’s selection of presidential candidates. He said, “She kept saying, ‘There’s a rule. So we will follow the rule.’ Doesn’t it remind you of the Yushin regime? Those would be such words from someone who gave up a hope of being president.”

A member of Lee’s staff said, “I think Lee was upset at Park’s attitude, ignoring the other candidates.”

The pro-Park camp expressed displeasure about Lee’s remarks but regarded them as a threadbare show at the same time. A person close to Park said, “He acts like that now and then. I have nothing to say about him.”

“I think it is a part of his noise marketing,” another person from Parks’ camp said. “He couldn‘t help but scratch the party’s leader to draw attention to himself as a presidential candidate.”

The other presidential candidates from the NFP, Chung Mong-joon, and Kim Moon-so, support an open primary where anyone can vote, even people who aren‘t members of the party. Park Geun-hye wishes to stick to the old rule, where candidates are selected by a combination of party members with only limited involvement by regular citizens.

They suggested holding a round-table discussion for the party’s presidential candidates to floor leader Hwang Woo-yeo. It was announced that, “The party’s leadership hasn’t come up with any solution to break through the situation. So we propose a round-table conference to resolve the problem.”

But Park‘s camp opposes that, saying, “Their suggestion is like amending the presidential system to a cabinet system right before the presidential election.” They added, “The round-table discussion is meaningless.”

On the other hand, Kim Moon-soo, Gyeonggi Province Governor said at a press conference on June 18, “Since I was young, I’ve wanted to devote myself to the public good. I’m married because I think unmarried people are hypocrites.”

That statement was interpreted as targeting Park Geun-hye’s single status. Kim also said, “I’m married for my internal honesty because I couldn’t believe myself being single and maintaining a Monk-like, ascetic lifestyle.”

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