YONHAP NEWS

(3rd LD) Ex-Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak elected as S. Korea's opposition presidential candidate

By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Yonhap) -- Lee Myung-bak, a former Hyundai CEO and Seoul mayor, won the presidential candidacy of the major opposition Grand National Party (GNP), the party announced Monday, proving his unwavering lead in polls ahead of the December election.

The businessman-turned politician defeated Park Geun-hye, a former GNP chairwoman and the eldest daughter of former President Park Chung-hee, by about 2,400 votes or 1.5 percentage points according to the outcome of Sunday's primaries, the party announced at a convention.

   "Thank you, thank you," Lee said, accepting his nomination before a roaring crowd at the Seoul Olympic Gymnastics Stadium.

   "I accept this as the people's demand to revive the economy and integrate the divided country, and I will achieve these without fail," he said.

   His rival, Park, accepted the results, assuaging concerns about a potential in-house schism that marked the year-long primary race.

   A self-made man who came from a poor Christian family and became Hyundai's youngest CEO and one of the country's richest politicians, Lee faced numerous allegations about shady land deals in his past and hidden assets. Despite the accusations, the voters still chose Lee.

   "If that many allegations had been raised about a candidate in 2002, the primary race would have been turned upside down three times, four times," said Han Gui-young, a senior researcher with the Korea Society Opinion Institute, a research center on political issues.

   Lee's victory was an apparent statement of South Koreans' biggest concern this year: the economy. In 2002, then ruling party contender Roh Moo-hyun was elected with an idealistic program including moral integrity, welfare for the working class and reconciliation with North Korea. Five years later, however, the voters now want to find jobs and buy houses.

   "People want a capable leader, and other than Lee, no contender has given a clear answer about the economy," Han said.
Presidential polls suggest that a GNP candidate would win the next presidency if the vote were taken today. All pro-government contenders hold rock-bottom ratings, mainly because of voters' low opinion of President Roh Moo-hyun's economic performance.

   The Uri Party, founded by Roh in 2003, disbanded over the weekend as its lawmakers and other party liberals push for an alliance to augment forces and challenge the GNP. Still lacking a formidable figure as their standard-bearer, the pro-government forces are expected to nominate a single candidate by October.

   Seen as the crucial key to the presidential election, the GNP primary drew voter turnout as high as the 2002 presidential election at 70.8 percent. In the nationwide voting of party and non-party members, Lee garnered 81,084 votes compared to Park with 78,632 votes. Park, a GNP fixture, was strong with party delegates, but Lee overturned the tide through telephone surveys of 5,500 non-party members, party officials said.

   Lee built his political reputation while he was the mayor of Seoul, restoring a downtown stream that was covered during the rapid industrialization of the 1970s under the administration of Park's father, which often bypassed environmental considerations.

   hkim@yna.co.kr
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