Kim Meets With Party, Defers Decision a Day

President Kim Dae-jung on Wednesday met the Supreme Council members of his Millennium Democratic Party to discuss how to shake up the party, the Blue House and his cabinet on Wednesday. But, defying expectations and illustrating the difficult choices he must make, he held off announcing any decisions until Thursday.

"As party boss, I keenly feel responsible for the loss at the Oct. 25 by-elections, and am seriously considering how to account for the defeat," the president said. "I will announce the overhaul measures at a party meeting Thursday, after giving thorough consideration to the proposal made by the Supreme Council members."

In a 90-minute meeting, the party leaders discussed a range of sensitive issues that have erupted since the party's shutout in the Oct. 25 by-elections. In addition to the 12 Supreme Council members, who all submitted their resignations last week, those on hand included the party chairman, Han Kwang-ok; the party spokesman Jeon Yong-hak; the chief of staff, Lee Sang-joo, and the senior secretary for political affairs, Lew Seon-ho.

"We have discussed all the issues that have emerged since the Oct. 25 defeat," said Mr. Jeon.

Party reformers blame the large and influential Donggyo-dong for the defeat and have called on it to step down from front-line leadership. They specifically demanded the ouster of Kwon Roh-kap, the faction boss, and Park Jie-won, the senior secretary for policy and planning.

In the turmoil, would-be candidates for next year's presidential nomination have traded accusations and demands, adding a dimension of power struggle to the infighting. Some of them have pressed President Kim to set a timetable for picking a nominee for the December presidential election that could improve the party's chances in the June local elections. In the two previous presidential election cycles, the chief of the ruling party waited till just a few months before the voting to announce the party candidate.

Tension cloaked the Blue House and the ruling-party headquarters Wednesday as all party stakeholders looked to the president for decisive and sweeping changes to end the disputes.

Mr. Kim had returned Tuesday evening from a three-day trip to the ASEAN+3 Summit in Brunei. Blue House aides had briefed him on the sets of proposals and the demands of the reformers.

The turmoil poses challenges even for a president renowned for his mastery of political maneuver. With only 16 months left in his term, Mr. Kim is considered a lame duck ?but one with a powerful say over the candidacies and policies the party will put forth in next year's local and presidential elections. Aware of this authority, the reformers included in their demands that Mr. Kim step down as party president.

Meanwhile, Mr. Kwon, a key reformist target, on Wednesday denied speculation that he would embark upon an indefinite trip abroad to ease the pressure on the president. He also denied that he was closing down his office in Mapo-gu, Seoul, from which he dispenses political patronage. But Mr. Kwon postponed the news conference at which he was expected to blast the reformers from Thursday to Friday.

by Kim Chong-hyuk