Ruling party shows pull on candidates

The headquarters of the Millennium Democratic Party's presidential hopefuls are clustered near the party building in Yeouido, Seoul.

Although Representative Rhee In-je has not officially declared his candidacy (he is scheduled to do so Sunday) his office was bustling with people early Thursday morning. Ten people, including four National Assemblymen, are preparing his speech to announce his candidacy.

Kim Joong-kwon, another presidential hopeful, opened his headquarters one floor below Mr. Rhee's office. But the office is nearly empty, as he and his staff are holding a meeting at a second office in Migeun-dong.

The headquarters of Representative Hahn Hwa-kap is located in a building about 20 meters down the street. A large placard engraved with Mr. Hahn's campaign slogans hangs on the wall. At 11:00 a.m. Mr. Hahn and his staff were analyzing predictions for the party's April primary.

The next building houses the headquarters of Noh Mu-hyun, a senior party adviser. Mr. Noh was holding interviews with reporters dispatched from three media firms. His staff was busy discussing an outline for an on-line conversation the candidate would hold Thursday evening.

Representative Kim Keun-tae's campaign office is in another nearby building. His assistant was heard informing reporters that the candidate would not hand out money to the heads of local chapters, but the candidate was out, rehearsing a forthcoming television appearance.

by Song Sang-hoon