Uri Watch

The disintegration continues:

According to their faction the candidates have different approaches to the party’s problems leading to predictable confrontation. One point of dispute is the reason for the drastic fall in the party’s support. Kim Geun-tae said this was the fault of Mr. Chung. Another candidate, Kim Du-kwan, a pro-Roh faction member and former presidential secretary agreed with him. Mr. Chung said such comments only brings about party disunity.

Amid the rivalry of the former ministers, another pro-Roh faction lawmaker, Kim Hyuk-kyu, joined the race, saying the party chairman must be somebody other than either former minister. “The excessive competition between the factions [of the former ministers] leads to concern about the fallout from the convention,” he said. Another lawmaker, Kim Boo-kyum, echoed the sentiment while declaring his candidacy.

Meanwhile, an anti-Roh lawmaker, Kim Young-choon, brought up the relationship between the Blue House and the governing party. “Only when the governing party frees itself from the image that it’s under the control of President Roh Moo-hyun, will the road for survival be in sight,” he said. An issue that sparks sharp confrontation is a merger with the Democratic Party, based in Jeolla province.

Former members of the party took the lead in founding the governing Uri Party, after President Roh won his office with the Democratic Party. The talk of a merger has been around for a while. Two chairmanship candidates, Cho Bae-sook and Im Jong-seok, both from the Jeolla region, strongly support it. Two candidates from other regions, Kim Hyuk-kyu and Kim Du-kwan, are against any merger.

Recall that Roh was elected on the platform of the Millenium Democratic Party, now the Democratic Party, which is a timid shadow of its old self.