Ruling Party Scrambles For Leadership; Rhee Focus of 2 Groupings

Presidential hopefuls in the Millennium Democratic Party moved fast to build blocs Friday, a day after President Kim Dae-jung stepped down from the party presidency.

As different camps bickered over the timing and nature of the pending party convention, the competition was developing into one between Representative Rhee In-je, the front-runner, and an anti-Rhee camp led by Representative Hahn Hwa-kap.

Mr. Hahn, a member of the "new Donggyo-dong faction," huddled with the party's reformers as well as with rival presidential hopefuls Friday, agreeing to promote a two-stage party convention.

"We should hold a January convention as specified in the party charter and regulation where we can overhaul the party leadership. And we should nominate the party's presidential candidate after local elections in June," Mr. Hahn said.

Representatives Kim Keun-tae and Chung Dong-young, also from the reformers' camp, backed him.

Another figure in the anti-Rhee camp is Representative Noh Mu-hyun. Speaking to his supporters in Daegu, Mr. Noh criticized Mr. Rhee's strategy. "Consolidating support from the Jeolla and Chungcheong provinces to suppress the power of the votes from the Gyeongsang provinces will not work," Mr. Noh said. "It is a strategy that goes against the demands of the times."

Mr. Rhee said Friday, "To win in the June local elections, we should hold a party convention either in March or April where we can select both the party president and the presidential nominee."

A close aide of Mr. Rhee warned against forming an anti-Rhee camp, saying, "We can not win the presidential election with an alliance of weaklings."

Rhee backers released an in-house poll that asked 1,004 MDP delegates in August whom they supported as the party's candidate in next December's presidential election. They said Mr. Rhee received 33 percent, followed by Mr. Noh with 11.6 percent and Mr. Hahn with 10.7 percent.

Mr. Rhee is known to enjoy the backing of "old Donggyo-dong faction" leaders such as Kwon Roh-kap and the party's chairman, Han Kwang-ok, who will have a powerful say in shaping an emergency decision-making party apparatus. Mr. Han called a meeting of senior party members for Friday to discuss governance for the rudderless party.

by Kim Chong-hyuk