Not long ago, Korean politics was dominated by charismatic leaders called the Three Kims ― former presidents Kim Dae-jung and Kim Young-sam, and the power broker Kim Jong-pil. The personality-centered political structure has declined steadily over the years, but a number of Korean lawmakers and would-be political leaders continue to rally behind individuals.
Some of them continue to lead traditional party factions bequeathed by former presidents. Others have risen and fallen pursuing their own goals on untrodden paths.


Coattail-riders and pathfinders jostle for influence

In Korea, ruling party bigwigs’ relations with the incumbent president are key to their standing within the party.

As such, the pro-Park Geun-hye faction ― a group of lawmakers supporting her policies ― remains dominant in the ruling Saenuri Party. While factionalism has faded since the Park administration took power, the party’s most influential figures still jockey for position in factional competition.

Two of the Saenuri Party’s most influential figures are contesting for the title of “the original pro-Park Geun-hye.”

One of these is Saenuri Party chairman Rep. Kim Moo-sung, who has had an on-and-off relationship with Park. Known as “Moo-dae” ― a combination of his name and the Korean word for boss ― the Saenuri Party chairman is famous for playing out his own brand of politics. 

While this aspect has made him an influential figure, some observers say that this has also led to his on-again off-again relationship with the president, clearly demonstrated by an episode in 2008. At the time, he formed an alliance of independent pro-Park candidates, 12 of whom were elected in that year’s general election.

After the results came out, Kim called out to Park: “Shouldn’t we hug?” Park, however, met Kim’s enthusiasm with a silent, icy glare and pushed him away. Two years later, Kim’s status in the faction was dealt a severe blow when Park stated that there was no chief among pro-Park members.

Kim’s recent comment on constitutional revision sparked speculation that Saenuri-Cheong Wa Dae relations were strained. In October last year, Kim said that discussion of the issue would soon flood the parliament, in contrast to the president’s concerns that the issue would swallow up more urgent economic issues.

Kim’s rival is Rep. Suh Chung-won, a seven-term lawmaker credited with laying the foundations for the faction itself.

The veteran politician has shown remarkable loyalty to Park over the years, which threatened to end his political career at times. In 2007, his decision to support President Park’s bid for the party leadership cost him party nomination in the following year’s general election. But, similar to Kim Moo-sung, he responded by forming the Pro-Park Alliance, a temporary party that won 14 parliamentary seats.

Unlike Kim, it seems unlikely that Suh will seek to climb the political ladder.

“Suh will not seek to take a leading role, but remain behind the scenes,” Myongji University’s Shin Yul said. Suh planned to shun leadership positions from early on, though he was almost pushed into running for party chairmanship earlier this year, Shin said.

Suh, a seven-term lawmaker, however, is considered likely to have much influence in selecting the next presidential candidate.

The talk of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon running as a “pro-Park candidate” in 2017 stemmed from a conference among pro-Park lawmakers led by Suh.

The quickly quashed rumor was fanned by the interaction between Ban and Rep. Roh Chul-rae, a key ally of Suh. In July, Roh showed Ban’s mother around a cultural heritage site in his constituency, for which the U.N. chief thanked Roh in a handwritten letter.

Far from an “original pro-Park,” Rep. Choi Kyung-hwan is another heavyweight with close ties to the president.

Choi, a three-term lawmaker, is considered one of the newer members of the faction. However, he has been tasked with spearheading the Park administration’s economic policies ― which appears to be the president’s biggest priority ― as the deputy prime minister for economy. 

Of the provincial governors, former Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Moon-soo is perhaps the Saenuri Party figure that stands out most.

A recent survey ranked him as the fourth favorite for presidency. Among conservative figures, Kim was outpaced only by the Saenuri Party chairman.

Since returning to the party after two gubernatorial terms, he has been expanding his presence in terms of both factional ties and duties within the party.

He heads the party’s reform committee, the brainchild of Kim Moo-sung, and has stated that he will become a “pan-factional” figure rather than go back to being an outsider as he had been before.

In addition, he has sided with the president on the issue of the Constitution, which for a time appeared to be the biggest issue dividing the party.

As the former Gyeonggi governor comes to the fore in the party, his successor Nam Kyung-pil appears to be building himself up to become a “hidden dragon” in local politics.

Having served five terms in the National Assembly, he was seen as a party heavyweight and was rumored to have set his sights on becoming floor leader.

Although he ran in the local elections only after much persuasion from the party leaders, Nam has been his “own man” in carrying out his new duties. 

Since taking office, he has stressed that he will establish a coalition government and recently nominated former opposition lawmaker Lee Ki-woo as a deputy governor for social cohesion.

“It is a very good move. There remains psychological discord and competition between the parties, and those involved in coalition governments still have some mistrust, but it is a very good attempt and if (Nam) succeeds, it would leave a very good precedent,” said Choi Young-jin, a professor of Korean politics at Chung-Ang University in Seoul.

Saying that a local government chief is much better positioned to build achievements than a parliamentarian, he said that more former local government chiefs would run for the presidency in future.

“Gyeonggi Province is the largest, and because it surrounds Seoul, its people will influence Seoul residents,” Choi said. “Nam could become a much stronger contender than Kim Moon-soo in (the 2022) presidential election.”

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)


Presidents’ men and ‘upshot’ contenders

The 2012 presidential election defeat continues to have many effects on the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, one of the most prominent of which is that the party has been left without a clear apex of power.

As a result, factions jostling for power remains a big issue for the NPAD.

Collectively known as the pro-Roh Moo-hyun faction, those with close ties to Roh are considered to be hardliners who exercised significant influence within the party.

The pro-Roh faction currently stands behind Rep. Moon Jae-in, one of Roh’s closest allies and one of the opposition’s most likely presidential contenders. In a recent survey asking for presidential favorites, Moon came second after Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon. 

In addition, he is now running for party leadership in the party convention scheduled for February. And he is going for it with uncharacteristic forwardness. Moon, who displayed a reserve uncommon among local politicians, even during the televised presidential candidates’ debate in 2012, said that he will put his political life on the line to transform the NPAD into “a winning party” if elected.

“If the party does not change, then winning in the (2016) general election is impossible, and the hopes of administration change will move further away,” Moon said as he announced his bid Monday. The former presidential candidate also declared that he would not run in the general election if he was elected chairman.

Another key pro-Roh figure reputed to have bigger ambitions is South Chungcheong Province Governor Ahn Hee-jung. 

Although he was brought low for receiving illegal political funds, he has made an impressive comeback and is now serving his second term as the South Chungcheong chief. In addition, Moon Jae-in effectively named him his successor, saying that he would help Ahn to “grow into a national political leader.”

However, observers say the South Chungcheong governor has a long way to go in Korean politics to the extent that his factional association has little meaning.

“Discussing whether he is pro-Roh or not right now is completely meaningless. He is a provincial governor, and that keeps him apart from central politics,” professor Shin Yul of Myongji University said.

Shin said Ahn lacked the experience and clout to maintain a presence in central politics from his current position, and that his recent rise was fueled in part by the NPAD’s lack of prominent figures.

“There simply are not enough (prominent) people in the opposition. In the Saenuri Party, there are many, and (if Ahn was in the ruling party) he would be just be one of a group (of potential contenders).”

While pro-Roh figures continue to attract more attention, those with connections to Kim Dae-jung and his Donggyo-dong faction remain a force to be reckoned with.

The “DJ-line” lives on within the main opposition with Rep. Park Jie-won as one of its most prominent figures.

As with Moon Jae-in, Park is eyeing the post of party chairman and he appears to be highly conscious of the pro-Roh competition. 

In recent interviews, Park has reiterated the need for potential presidential candidates to stay out of the race for the party’s top post.

“If a candidate for presidency (the election for which) remains three years away becomes the opposition leader, it is likely that (the party leader) will sustain damage like former chairman Ahn Cheol-soo,” Park said in a recent radio interview.

He also said that other potential presidential candidates would not stand idly by if Moon made a leadership bid.

Although Park denied that his comments were aimed at preventing Moon from running for party leadership, he has been turning up the heat on the former presidential candidate.

“The pro-Moon group appears to be interested only in taking power in the party, rather than seizing (the presidency),” Park said at a recent lecture, in an apparent attempt to undermine Moon Jae-in and his allies’ presence in the party. 


The faction-less

The goings-on in the main opposition, however, are not decided solely by major factions. Outsiders like Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon command more public interest than many of the party’s veterans.

Former party chairman and presidential candidate Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo remains a significant figure despite having lost much of the luster he enjoyed as a presidential candidate.

Ahn rose rapidly with his “new politics” call aimed at increasing transparency in Korean politics, and changing the power structures centered on the president and party leaderships.

Although his political career is still in its early stages, Ahn has proven to hold much sway over the public.

Without his support, Moon Jae-in would not have been able to mount much challenge to Park Geun-hye in the 2012 presidential election.

Fueled by popular support, Ahn went from a first-term lawmaker without any real support base in established politics to a co-chairman of the main opposition party.

Ahn’s “new politics” drive may largely be considered to have petered out without results, but he wields an influence that cannot be ignored.

Ahn’s support was also crucial in launching the career of Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon. Park was at best a long-shot in the 2011 Seoul mayoral by-election until he received Ahn’s endorsement. Ultimately, Park outpaced the then much better known Rep. Na Kyung-won of the Saenuri Party by more than 7 percentage points.

Since then, however, the Seoul mayor has come a long way from being a little-known figure who needs endorsement from bigger-names.

Buoyed by his focus on welfare, Park has risen to a position where he commands more public support as a potential president than even conservative heavyweights such as Saenuri Party chairman Rep. Kim Moo-sung.

While Park maintains that he is just an “administrator” and that he intends to serve his full term, which would rule him out from the 2017 presidential election, some observers have seen his recent actions such as naming his associates as Seoul’s deputy mayors as preparation for his presidential run.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)