YONHAP NEWS

(LEAD) Park Geun-hye calls for reinstatement of her supporters

   By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, April 25 (Yonhap) -- Breaking several weeks of silence, Park Geun-hye, a ruling party rival of President Lee Myung-bak, pressed the party to take back her supporters who won seats in the incoming legislature after bolting.

   In return, Park swore that she would not run in the upcoming election to pick the party's new leader, implying that she would not battle with Lee's faction for party hegemony.

   "If the party can't trust me over concerns of a factional feud, I will prove myself by not running in the July party convention," Park said in a press conference Friday. "The party must reinstate everyone who left the party."
Park, former chairwoman of the ruling Grand National Party, retains considerable political influence among the country's right-wingers as the daughter of late President Park Chung-hee. Park has been in power-struggle with a faction led by Lee after losing the party's ticket to him to run in the December presidential election.

   Supporters of Park bolted from the party and established a small conservative group after failing to win party tickets to run in the April 9 parliamentary elections amid an uproar over the nomination of candidates.

   Successfully splitting the conservative vote with the ruling party by ranking third in the elections, the splinter group secured 14 seats in the incoming National Assembly and has been expressing hopes of returning to the party with Park's help.

   But the ruling party leadership has made clear several times, before and after the elections, it will not take back the pro-Park group, widening the rift with the former chairwoman.

   "I have no plans to meet with the president anytime soon," Park said, adding that reinstatement of former members was the most urgent matter.

   Spurning a negative comment made by the current GNP leader regarding the reinstatement of defectors, Park emphasized that the decision must be based upon an official discussion, not a personal opinion.

   Chairman Kang Jae-sup said Wednesday that he will veto the reinstatement of party defectors who created the pro-Park party, while positively reviewing the return of lawmakers-elect who do not belong to a specific group.
Kang reiterated his position after Park's press conference Friday, saying, "I don't want to talk about the issue any further and hope disputes end here."
"It is wrong for a party to play favorites in taking back its own members," Park said. "The public will not stand by such decision."
"Those people (who left the party) also strived hard for President Lee's win during the presidential election," she added.

   The ruling party grabbed 153 of the 299 National Assembly seats in the April 9 elections, failing to achieve its initial goal of securing a stable majority of 170 seats.

   Thus, political pundits have been predicting that the GNP may forge an alliance with its defectors to create a stronger conservative legislative bloc.

   But the ongoing prosecution investigation into the splinter group's questionable selection of lawmakers has been playing as a further obstacle in its return to the GNP.

   Suspicions have been growing that the minority party received large sums of money from candidates in return for seats in the incoming legislature allocated under a proportional representation system.

   One of the party's lawmakers-elect was arrested by prosecutors Tuesday and its leader is soon to be questioned over allegations he received a questionable donation from another lawmaker-elect.

   "I believe that those found guilty of charges must receive rightful legal punishment, and I am partly responsible as the group won those seats with my name," Park said. "But I hope suspicions that the prosecution is deliberately conducting excessive investigations into the opposition parties are not true."
Opposition parties, including the pro-Park group, have been accusing the government and the ruling party of conspiring with the prosecution to suppress them via excessive and unfair investigation into their lawmakers-elect.

   hayney@yna.co.kr
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