Naming alleged conspirators, Rhee appears to set the stage for a bolt

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Naming alleged conspirators, Rhee appears to set the stage for a bolt

Storm clouds intensified above the ruling Millennium Democratic Party Tuesday when Representative Rhee In-je named Park Jie-won, the president's special policy aide, as the leader of an alleged conspiracy at the Blue House to deny him the party's nomination.

An aide to Mr. Rhee, Kim Yun-su, said Mr. Rhee would demand that Mr. Park resign. Political observers say the next developments are predictable: The Blue House will reject the demand, and then Mr. Rhee will grab his hat and leave the party, despite his current lead in the party's primary voting.

The candidate has secluded himself at his home in Jagok-dong, Seoul, and has stopped campaigning. He said he would not participate in Wednesday's television debate in Changwon, South Gyeongsang province, where another primary will be held this weekend. His nemesis, Roh Moo-hyun, is expected to do well in his home territory in the southeast.

Mr. Rhee is expected to hold a press conference Wednesday to discuss his future steps.

After six primaries, Mr. Rhee leads the race for the party nomination with 3,843 votes to Mr. Roh's 2,144. Representative Chung Dong-young has 393 votes. Kim Joong-kwon, despite his 930 votes, quit the race on Monday, citing his poor showing in Gwangju and expressing disappointment at the regionalism shown by voters in the primaries.

Mr. Rhee's aides said Mr. Kim's withdrawal has further heightened Mr. Rhee's suspicions that a conspiracy to deny him the nomination is afoot. Both Mr. Kim and Mr. Roh are natives of the two Gyeongsang provinces, where primaries will be held this weekend and next. Voters in Gyeongsang province constitute about 30 percent of the South Korean electorate.

The gist of Mr. Rhee's conspiracy charge is that party bosses want to field a candidate from the Gyeongsang region who is also acceptable to voters in the party's Jeolla stronghold. Such a candidate, according to the theory, could divert votes there from opposition leader Lee Hoi-chang. Mr. Rhee is from South Chungcheong province in the center of the country.

The withdrawal of another Gyeongsang hopeful would, the theory goes, leave the field clear for Mr. Roh. Mr. Rhee's aides also note that a senior adviser to Mr. Roh is a close friend of Mr. Park, the Blue House official who is the target of Mr. Rhee's accusations.

by Song Sang-hoon

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