MDP Nomination Likely to Be Set Early Next Year

The governing Millennium Democratic Party is leaning toward a single party convention, in February or March 2002, to select its new party leadership and nominate a presidential candidate. The party will likely double or triple the number of delegates who nominate the presidential candidate.

Some 180 members of the ruling party gathered for a workshop Wednesday, which is significant as the party, devoid of a leader, looked to establish a ruling body and set an agenda. National local elections will be held in June of next year and the presidential election in December.

President Kim Dae-jung resigned as party president on Nov. 8, followed by the collapse of the party's top leadership body, the Supreme Council, under pressure from younger party members to initiate reforms. The party has set up a Reform Committee as an interim leadership body to conduct in-house opinion gathering and brainstorming and set the agenda for 2002.

"A majority of our party members preferred to hold the convention in either February or March" to have sufficient time to plan strategy, Representative Yoo Jay-kun said.

To accomplish the change in date the party must rewrite its charter, which calls for a January convention. Analysts said the scenario favors Rhee In-je, a strong contender for the presidential nomination, who has been calling for a one-shot March convention because he reportedly feels he can retain his current lead among potential delegates. Other presidential hopefuls, such as Noh Mu-hyun, Kim Joong-kwon and Representative Chung Dong-young, also support the March convention.

Another strong candidate, Representative Hahn Hwa-kap, opposes a single convention. He called for a convention in January to select new party leadership and another in July to nominate a presidential candidate.

Participants at the workshop called for increasing the existing 9,355 delegate slate to around 20,000 or 30,000. They argued that increasing the number would give presidential hopefuls who are not natives of the Jeolla provinces, the party's stronghold, a better chance at being nominated. The party said at its August 2000 convention that 73 percent of its delegates hail from the Jeolla provinces, which would give candidates from that region or those backed by the old-line power brokers in the party a distinct advantage.

The timing of the convention is also critical as less-established presidential hopefuls contest for more time to woo in-house supporters and solidify their public images.

by Lee Yang-soo