Roh, Chung discuss how to stop leader Lee

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Roh, Chung discuss how to stop leader Lee

Trailing in the polls, the No. 2 and No. 3 presidential candidates agreed in a meeting yesterday to choose a joint candidate in an effort to stop the front-runner, the Grand National Party's Lee Hoi-chang.

The Millennium Democratic Party's presidential candidate Roh Moo-hyun and the National Unity 21's presidential candidate Chung Mong-joon met in person, saying that they would put more effort into selecting a single candidate to represent both their parties before the election.

The two candidates, however, differed on how to select that single candidate.

Mr. Roh wants to conduct an opinion poll of the general voters, while Mr. Chung hoped to select the candidate by conducting two polls, one of the general voters and the other of party officials, then combining the two equally to make a selection. The two candidates reportedly agreed with the necessity of holding televised debates.

Despite their differences, the two candidates are continuing to talk. The deadline for registering to run for the presidency is coming up fast on Nov. 25, but the two candidates need at least one week to prepare for the TV debates. To select a single candidate, observers say Mr. Chung and Mr. Roh will have to agree on the selection method by Sunday at the latest. The two reportedly agreed to meet again on Sunday, in a last-minute push for a unified candidate.

Mr. Chung and Mr. Roh are in agreement on their strategies against their rival GNP candidate Mr. Lee. Calling Mr. Lee an "obsolete politician hungry to hold supremacy," the two candidates agreed to do their best to stop the Grand National Party from taking control of the Blue House.

The Grand Nationals reacted sensitively. "Their meeting is nothing more than the meeting between the meeting between the Fox and the Crane, from Aesop's fables," said Secretary General Kim Young-il of the Grand National Party.

Other Grand National members were also critical of the coalition. "The two have nothing in common in their politics," Rhee Q-taek, the GNP floor leader, said. "Unless they undergo genetic transformation, unifying their parties and selecting a single candidate is a mission impossible."

by Chun Young-gi, Choi Hoon

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