An Outsider May Be in Party's Future

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An Outsider May Be in Party's Future

President Kim Dae-jung suggested Friday that he is willing to recruit an outside candidate to run on his Millennium Democratic Party's presidential ticket in December next year.

"The Millennium Democratic Party is open to all persons who agree with the platform and policies as defined in the party charter," Mr. Kim said, referring to the party's upcoming process to select its presidential candidate. He made the remarks at a ceremony celebrating the 55th anniversary of the founding of the Kyunghyang Shinmun, a local daily.

"Anyone may participate in the race for the party ticket, as the democratic rules set by the party state," Mr. Kim said.

Mr. Kim said the party's ideal candidate should strive for "building an information-rich nation, achieving peace and reconciliation between the two Koreas, firmly upholding human rights, and improving the lives of the middle and the lower classes."

Asked whether he was willing to give up his position as president of the party, and whether he was willing to invite opposition-affiliated members into his administration and hold key positions, Mr. Kim replied that he would take necessary measures to ensure fair management of the elections.

When asked about the upcoming Oct. 15 summit with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan, Mr. Kim said "the Japanese prime minister will make comments that will show that he highly respects the Korean people's opinion." The statement was in reference to the differences between the two countries' interpretation of their histories.

A Blue House official responded to the remarks with caution, saying, "he was merely referring to the principles laid out in the Millennium Democratic Party's charter."

Political analysts, however, said the president may indeed be signalling his intent to recruit an outside candidate who would have a better chance of winning against the opposition leader, Lee Hoi-chang, who has positioned himself as the early leader in the race. Analysts added that the president is trying to forestall the lame-duck situation by keeping the party faithful from abandoning him to align themselves more closely with potential presidential candidates.



by Kim Jin-kook

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