Roh confidant to join new party

Former Welfare Minister Ryu Si-min yesterday announced he would join the new liberal political party planned to be launched next January by associates of the late President Roh Moo-hyun.

The creation of a new party comes as those in favor of an alternative party say the main opposition Democratic Party has shown a lack of leadership. They also claim that the DP cannot fulfill the needs of the people to revive democracy here.

"I wish to be part of a political party supported by people who are awakened," Ryu said at a press conference. "We must go a long way with the risk of running into setbacks and failure. However, I decided to take this road for there is no other."

Ryu, who was first elected to the National Assembly in 2000, served as welfare minister in 2006 under Roh. He was often referred to as Roh`s key political assistant.



Stressing that the nation should put an end to President Lee Myung-bak`s administration by 2012, the new liberal party will prioritize the people`s needs, said Ryu.

"I became a member of this party because I wanted to at least add help, even if that help may be very poor," he said.

A preparation committee for the official launching of the party will be composed by Sunday and the party plans to announce its establishment on Jan. 17. The party currently has 8,579 members.

The newly created party, however, is separate from the group co-chaired by former Prime Ministers Lee Hae-chan and Han Myeong-sook, which was created by some pro-Roh figures last month.

A total of 73 people compose the group`s operation committee, which includes a number of key figures loyal to Roh, such as former presidential chief of staff Lee Byung-wan, former presidential spokesman Chun Ho-seon and Moon Jae-in, who served as the chief presidential secretary.

The group headed by two former prime ministers does not intend to develop into a political party but plans to nurture civic leaders that could practice the values - like political reform, development of democracy, formation of peaceful South-North Korea relations and the eradication of regionalism - that were emphasized by Roh.

(sharon@heraldm.com)



By Cho Ji-hyun