GNP sets crucial leadership meet for early July

The Grand National Party will hold a national convention to elect a new leadership on July 4, the emergency council of the ruling party decided yesterday.

“We have decided to hold the convention in Seoul on July 4, and further discussions will take place whether to hold primaries nationwide or not,” said Bae Eun-hee, a GNP spokeswoman.

The emergency council had its first meeting yesterday to discuss how to redefine the image of the Grand National Party following its rout in by-elections last month. After Chairman Ahn Sang-soo and other members of the Supreme Council stepped down to assume responsibility for the defeats, two interim leaders, newly elected floor leader Hwang Woo-yea and emergency council head Chung Ui-hwa, are leading the ruling party now.

The emergency council decided yesterday to increase the number of its members from 13 to 19 to reflect a more diverse range of voices. A senior politician who is not a lawmaker will also be a member of the expanded council to represent public sentiments of Daejeon and South Chungcheong.

At the meeting, the emergency council pledged to carry out true reform of the party by ending its perennial factional power struggle.

The chairmanship race is seen as an important event as the new leadership will oversee the nominations for the April 2012 legislative election and the primary for the presidential election in December 2012.

Representative Jeong Tae-keun, a founding member of the reformist New GNP, said yesterday that the group must unite and field a single candidate in the chairmanship election. “The reformists must unite and reform the party,” he said in an interview with SBS radio yesterday. “I want to see a young, fresh face as the new chairman.”

He said Representatives Nam Kyung-pil, Na Kyung-won, Chung Doo-un, Park Jin and Kim Tae-ho are possible candidates. “Such prominent politicians must unite to change the leadership,” he said.

Jeong said the New GNP head should be able to criticize the Blue House and the administration and communicate with younger voters. He should also want to promote working-class friendly policies and mend the factional schism, he said.

For a young reformist to win the chairmanship, an alliance with Park Geun-hye loyalists will be a critical factor. As of now, about 60 out of 172 lawmakers of the GNP are affiliated with Park.

As the GNP struggles to find a leadership to overhaul its obsolete image, the main opposition Democratic Party is also preparing to elect a new floor leader today. Representatives Lew Seon-ho, Kang Bong-kyun and Kim Jin-pyo are running for the post to represent the liberal opposition party, which enjoys higher popularity than the GNP since the April by-elections.

By Ser Myo-ja [myoja@joongang.co.kr]

한글 관련 기사 [중앙일보]
한나라당 차기 전당대회 7월4일 개최

한나라당은 12일 여의도 당사에서 첫 비상대책위원회 회의를 갖고 새 지도부를 선출하는 전당대회를 오는 7월4일 서울에서 개최키로 했다.

배은희 당 대변인은 회의 후 브리핑에서 "서울 전당대회는 7월4일로 잠정 결정했으며 (이에 앞서) 권역별 전당대회를 할지는 추후 논의해 결정하기로 했다"고 밝혔다.

다수의 비대위원은 회의에서 한나라당의 변화된 모습을 보여주기 위해 권역별 전당대회, 당대표-최고위원의 분리 선출 등의 제도개선이 필요하다는 견해를 제시한 것으로 알려졌다.

비대위는 주말 의견수렴을 거쳐 오는 16일 회의에서 산하에 3∼4개의 소위원회를 구성한 뒤 이 같은 문제를 논의해 나가기로 했다.

비대위는 회의에서 정의화 위원장을 포함해 13명이던 비대위원을 6명 늘려 19명으로 증원했다.

비대위원 가운데 김성식 의원이 빠지는 대신 박보환 박영아 권영진 신지호 황영철 나성린 의원을 추가 선임하고 대전.충남지역을 대표하는 원외 인사 1명도 포함시키기로 했다. 박보환 의원은 비대위원장 비서실장 역할도 하게 된다.

비대위는 또 공석중인 사무총장 직무대행으로 정희수 제1사무부총장을 임명했다.