Man who knew the rigth choices- Lee Man-sup

The newly elected speaker of the 16th National Assembly, a member of the Millennium Democratic Party, is recorded as the most frequently elected man in the political history of Korea (8 times) right next to Kim Jong-pil, the honorary party president of United Liberal Democrats.

This is the second time for him to assume the seat of national assembly speaker. Such luck is partly due to the domestic political culture that works in favor of senior members, but analysts point out his ability to grasp the general situation and his way of resolving ongoing matters also played a role in his election.

Lee took the place of assembly speaker during the President Kim Young-sam＇s administration. The then president appointed Lee to fill in for the remaining tenure (a year and 2 months) of the original house speaker, Park Jyun-kyu, who was forced to withdraw due to a controversy over his assets.

Lee was again selected by incumbent President Kim Dae-jung to take the speaker＇s seat. This was no easy achievement considering the hostility between the two yet Lee managed to rise to a high rank in the legislative body. At the time Lee was appointed to the seat only a year after he joined YS＇s party and only a year and 9 months later he shifted to DJ＇s party. Lee＇s choice was hard to explain and criticism followed along the way but luck was on his side.

In the 13th National Assembly election of 1998 in Taegu Lee was defeated by Kim Han-kyu, a political rookie. At the time, it seemed as if he would never fully recover from the defeat.

However, in 1992 President Roh Tae-woo asked him to join the then ruling Democratic Justice Party. In the wake of Presidential scandal he took sides with YS and established himself a base of support to help him make a comeback to the mainstream. In 1997, along with Rhee In-je who defied results in selecting the final Presidential candidate within the New Korea Party, he established the New Party for the People and acted as a party leader. This was later viewed as a mistake after they lost the election.

Nevertheless, in September of 1998 Lee proved himself worthy again when he won a place as an acting-president of the National Congress for New Politics.

Lee flatly denies allegations of corruption and financial chicanery. He claims his relationship with YS deteriorated rapidly since he refused to handle financial issues as requested and was not able to resume his seat during the second half of the year. When he said ＂I shall not be responsible for cheating laws even if the word comes from President himself＂ he may have his past experiences in mind.

by Lee Yang-soo