Kim Stays Distant From Party － for Now

President Kim Dae-jung has taken a series of steps to detach himself from political interests since resigning his post as head of the ruling party, but the opposition party reiterated its suspicions that Mr. Kim continues to plot political maneuvers.

"Since his resignation as party president on Nov. 8 in response to requests for reform from within the ruling party," a high Blue House official said, "the president has worked on changing relations between the Blue House, the National Assembly and the ruling and opposition parties."

While keeping a distant relationship with the ruling party, the president plans to meet members of the opposition face to face, the official said.

Mr. Kim has so far ousted Park Jie-won, his right-hand man, as Blue House secretary for policy and planning and appointed Han Duck-soo to replace him.

Changes have been sweeping and quick. Among those considered closest to the president and targeted by reform-minded members of the ruling party only Kwon Roh-kap, a former Supreme Council member, has maintained his status as an adviser to the party.

Mr. Kim has also kept the ruling party at arm's length. "When I called the president to ask on who should be appointed to the party reform committee, the president said 'That's your job, not mine,'" said Han Kwang-ok, the interim party president.

Many in political circles expressed surprise at the president's hands-off approach, but were skeptical at the same time.

"President Kim has created and broken up nine parties," a high-ranking Grand National Party official said. "He now seems to have dispersed his closest advisers first to make his opponents let their guard down. I suspect he will later call them together to make some kind of run in next year's presidential election."

Another senior ruling party official brushed aside the opposition's wariness, saying the president now has a higher cause. The official said he is focused on pulling the nation out of its economic slump and working on social and unification issues.

by Lee Yang-soo