MDP papers over dispute

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MDP papers over dispute

The ruling Millennium Democratic Party's prolonged in-house struggle over when to choose a new party leadership and nominate its presidential candidate is nearly settled with the party opting for an April convention to handle both tasks, party insiders said Wednesday. Party officials will meet Friday to vote on the question of a single convention. The current party charter stipulates that the party hold a January convention to pick the party leadership and a June convention to pick its presidential nominee.

Most party insiders said it now looks likely that the faction aligned with Representative Rhee In-je will win the behind-the-scenes negotiations and get the single convention it has pushed for. They added that it looks like a candidate will be eligible to run for both a party leadership position and the presidential nomination.

Some insiders said a decision will be made quickly and cleanly as ruling party legislators are aware that if the internal struggle drags on any longer the party will likely lose whatever faith the public still has in its ability to govern the country. The party was virtually forced to reform after it lost all three National Assembly seats contested in a by-election in October.

Han Kwang-ok, the party's chairman, will call a meeting of standing counselors on Thursday prior to putting the changes up for a vote on Friday. On Wednesday, Mr. Rhee stressed that "the controversy over when to hold a convention should end with the meeting," referring to Friday's scheduled vote.

Representative Hahn Hwa-kap, Mr. Rhee's chief rival for the party's presidential nomination, argued that a convention in April to choose a presidential candidate was fine - as long as a separate convention to choose party leaders is held in February.

But other presidential hopefuls, such as former Maritime and Fisheries Minister Noh Mu-hyun and former party chairman Kim Joong-kwon, both of whom had earlier sided with Mr. Hahn, said Tuesday that an April convention makes more sense.

At a meeting Wednesday with the heads of the government's three branches President Kim Dae-jung repeated his claim that he will not create a new political party nor influence the ruling party's presidential nomination. Speculation has abounded recently in political circles that the president is still trying to influence party decisions from behind the scenes.

He added that he will focus his energy on rebuilding the economy, stabilizing the livelihood of the middle and lower classes, advancing inter-Korean relations and ensuring the success of the 2002 soccer World Cup and 2002 Busan Asian Games and next year's two major elections.



by Kim Chong-hyuk

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