hankyoreh

Feb. 2. (by Kim Kyung-ho

The ruling Saenuri Party’s new floor leader is an outspoken advocate of party leadership in government affairs.

Yoo Seong-min, a 57-year-old third-term lawmaker representing the Daegu East-B district, won the floor leader seat by an overwhelming margin of 84 to 65 against opponent Lee Ju-young, a lawmaker with the support of President Park Geun-hye’s parliamentary wing, in an election by NFP lawmakers at the National Assembly on Feb. 2.

The landslide win among fellow lawmakers for Yoo - someone who has emphasized “cooperation amid tension” with the Blue House - is being taken as a sign of major changes in store for future party-Blue House relations and administration policy decisions on social services and taxes.

staff photographer)

“What elected Yoo Seong-min was the lawmakers’ fear,” said a party source of the election results. “They’re worried about getting clobbered in next year’s general elections if things keep on the way are there.”

Soon after his election, Yoo had some blunt calls for change from the president.

“I imagine there’s a lot of things even she can sense from looking back on the last two years,” Yoo said of Park.

“If she wants to get on the road to success for the remaining three years of her term, there has better be dialogue between the party, the administration, and the Blue House,” he added.

Yoo went on to say the party would “take the public’s wishes very much to heart and make some definite changes.”

Yoo had previously articulated his position on party-Blue House relations during his candidacy for the floor leadership, arguing that the party should be taking the lead in major policies to honor the pledged of the last election and win in next year’s general election. He also opposed the administration’s calls for social services without new taxes, arguing instead for “discussions toward mid-sized services with a mid-sized burden.” He insists that the debate on amending the Constitution “should not be prevented” - a definite break with the Blue House, which is trying to make sure the debate doesn’t happen.

For these reasons, many in and around the party saw his election as floor leader as signaling Park‘s lame duck status. Park lost much of her key support base late last year when she responded to the outcry over interference in government affairs by an alleged “secret circle” by shielding Chief of Staff Kim Ki-chun and her so-called “doorknob triumvirate” of secretaries. The public backlash was further exacerbated by policy decisions, including controversial changes to year-end tax settlement and abandoning of healthcare reform.

The floor leadership elections showed the ruling party lawmakers turning their backs on her. Even the participation of Cabinet members like Hwang Woo-yea, Choi Kyung-hwan, and Kim Hee-jung in the voting - a move that risked perceptions of interference to ensure Park’s wishes - was not enough to stem the tide.

“This wasn‘t about Yoo Seong-min winning, it was about Park Geun-hye losing,” said one prominent greater Seoul-area lawmaker.

“President Park’s lame duck status is now a definite thing,” the lawmaker added.

Observers are already predicting a stronger voice for the party in relations with the administration and Blue House and the legislation of major policies. It’s a trend that could be hastened if Yoo forms a strategic partnership with party president Kim Moo-sung, another figure outside the Park camp. All in all, it is shaping into a rather unpleasant gift for Park’s 63rd birthday.

The Blue House has yet to offer an official position on Yoo’s election. Senior public relations secretary Yoon Doo-hyun played his cards somewhat close to the vest before the results were announced, saying only that the Blue House would be “coordinating closely on policy through tripartite meetings once the floor leadership is elected to make sure nothing happens that would concern the public.” Internally, the results were seen as a potential burden. Many Blue House advisers were predicting a rocky road ahead for the next three years, with Kim and Yoo seizing the party leadership after a scandal involving a recent scandal over a note written by Kim Moo-sung in parliament.

Apart from summoning advisers to lunch on Feb. 2, Park was reported to have no specific schedule as she reviews her next steps in terms of future appointments and the new footing for party-Blue House relations.

One of the major questions now is what Park will offer by way of a band-aid with her follow-up appointments, which are expected to come sometime this week. Another goal is to turn around approval ratings for her governance, which are at their lowest since she took office in Feb. 2013. The situation is one where Park is under definite pressure to produce some kind of a breakthrough for her crisis.

One of the more urgent steps is to form a special advisory group to communicate with the new leadership under Kim and Yoo.

“Replacing Kim Ki-choon as Chief of Staff was such an obvious assumption that there’s really no turning back the tide now,” said one party figure, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It‘s the kind of emergency where the only way out for President Park is something bold and unexpected.”

Myongji University professor Kim Hyung-joon agreed on the need for bold changes.

“If President Park wants to succeed during the rest of her term, she needs to broader her talent pool from the ’Park wing loyalists’ she’s defended on and work on coordinating policies directly with the party,” Kim said.

By Hwang Jun-beom, staff reporter and Seok Jin-hwan, Blue House correspondent

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