Candidates court undecided

The two front-runners in Korea's presidential election are concentrating on undecided voters, who are estimated to number more than 20 percent with the race in its final hours before the vote Thursday.

Lee Hoi-chang, the standard bearer of the Grand National Party, yesterday urged voters to choose wisely, selecting stable and reasonable persons to handle state affairs. At a press conference in the South Chungcheong provincial office, Mr. Lee asserted that a crisis is looming over North Korea's reactivation of its nuclear program and that Korea would fall to pieces in the hands of radicals. "The people must make a cool judgment," he said.

Mr. Lee blasted the proposal of Roh Moo-hyun, his Millennium Democratic Party opponent, to relocate the administrative capital to the Chungcheong region. "It is an irresponsible, hasty campaign pledge made for the sake of wooing Chungcheong voters," he said.

Mr. Lee is thought to be slightly behind Mr. Roh in polls conducted by the parties and research companies. It is illegal to publish poll results in the last three weeks of the campaign.

Other members of the Lee camp trained their firepower on Mr. Roh's competence and image of dynamism. They asserted that Mr. Roh's remarks on national security, relocating the capital, forming an alliance with Chung Mong-joon, the chairman of the National Alliance 21, have changed repeatedly.

Mr. Roh promised that corrupt officials of the Kim Dae-jung administration would be punished if he were elected. "Those who hampered state administration reforms by intervening on personnel affairs, those involved in corruption and those liable for maladministration should be held responsible legally and politically," he said. "They will never participate in the new administration."

Mr. Roh said he is considering launching a new party after the election as a way to overhaul the Millennium Democrats. He promised to draw talent from all over the nation to fill key government positions. He said he would not reward those who help him win the election with government jobs.

Mr. Roh said he would meet U.S. President George W. Bush and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to resolve the North's nuclear program "peacefully," adding, "The GNP is only concentrating on a negative campaign to provoke people's anxieties."

Observers said Mr. Roh's latest statement showed an intention to divorce himself from the MDP's Donggyo-dong faction, loyal to President Kim Dae-jung. Mr. Roh affirmed that the statement was intended to win votes in the GNP's Gyeongsang stronghold. Party strategists hope to win more than 35 percent in Busan and South Gyeongsang province and over 30 percent support in Daegu and North Gyeongsang province.

Voter turnout may hold the key to the election. Election experts said that voters over age 50, who generally favor Mr. Lee, are more likely to vote than younger voters, who incline to Mr. Roh.

by Nam Jeong-ho