Rhee splits from ruling party, citing wiretapping, scandals

Home > National > Politics

print dictionary print

Rhee splits from ruling party, citing wiretapping, scandals

Representative Rhee In-je bolted from the governing Millennium Democratic Party yesterday, in yet another sign of political instability on the eve of the Dec. 19 presidential election.

Mr. Rhee, a presidential candidate in 1997, lost to Roh Moo-hyun in the MDP's presidential candidate primaries earlier this year.

"After observing the scandals about illegal wiretapping and public opinion manipulation, I was determined that I should no longer be indifferent to the corrupt, hegemony-seeking national governance monopoly," Mr. Rhee said at a press briefing. "I will accomplish my original goal of centrist political reform."

Quitting political parties is a familiar practice for Mr. Rhee, who left the Grand National Party (then known as the New Korea Party) in 1997 after losing in its presidential candidacy primaries. Mr. Rhee ran for the presidency later that year after creating his own party.

Defeated by Kim Dae-jung, he joined the Mr. Kim's party in 1998, where he once again made a bid for the party's nomination earlier this year.

Political observers are now closely watching the reaction of Chungcheong province voters, who are the mainstay supporters of Mr. Rhee.

Last night, Mr. Rhee reportedly met with Kim Jong-pil, the head of the conservative minority United Liberal Democrats, to talk about their options.

The alliance between the Millennium Democratic Party and the National Alliance 21 was a major reason that Mr. Rhee left the party. "That was definitely outrageous," Mr. Rhee said. "Unless we stop the corrupt, radical politicians' attempt to maintain their control of the Blue House for another term, we will face severe ordeals again."

Chung Dong-yong, head of the MDP presidential campaign, was upset by Mr. Rhee's comments. "We are displeased because he insulted our presidential candidate, calling him a radical extremist," Mr. Chung said. "We urge Representative Rhee to leave politics."

by Choi Hoon

Log in to Twitter or Facebook account to connect
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
help-image Social comment?
s
lock icon

To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.

Standards Board Policy (0/250자)