Ex-PM Han gives up bid for Seoul mayor
¼ö¾÷ÀÏ : 2011-09-14

 

Ex-PM Han gives up bid for Seoul mayor

 


Han Myeong-sook
Former Prime Minister
By Chung Min-uck

Han Myeong-sook, a former Prime Minister and the strongest mayoral candidate for the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), has given up her bid for the Seoul mayoralty, an aide said Tuesday.

In a news conference held in the National Assembly, Rep. Baek Won-woo of the DP made the announcement.

“Today I have decided not to run for the Oct. 26 mayoral by-election for Seoul. It is a decision made after consulting with many people inside and outside the party and many days of consideration,” Han was quoted as saying in a statement read by the lawmaker.

As for the reason of her dropping out, though not clear, Rep. Baek pointed out the people’s growing demand for changes of the political scene.

“I will with all my soul make every effort to work for the innovation of the DP, unification of the opposition bloc and civic society, victory in the 2012 general elections and a change in the government,” said Han.

The mayoral candidacy from the liberal side which was shaping up to be a two-way competition between Han and the rising political novice Park Won-soon supported by Ahn Cheol-soo, a potential presidential candidate, is to undergo big changes.

Han’s decision has left Park as likely the only unified candidate for the opposition as the two had previously agreed to seek a unified opposition candidate for the by-election.

Right after Han’s announcement, Rep. Sohn Hak-kyu, DP chairman, and Park met at the chairman’s office in the National Assembly and Sohn indirectly urged Park to join the party by telling him that the “DP’s door is wide open.”

But Park refused gracefully, saying, “People’s opinions that surfaced through Professor Ahn and me are that they don’t want the current party order but a complete change.”

Yet, he still held on to the previous agreement for a unified opposition candidate.

“I will take the path of a unified candidate of both the opposition bloc and civic society as I considered before,” said Park.

On Thursday, the opposition parties agreed on a “two-track election” for their candidate. The method is to first select people from various parties in the liberal bloc, and hold an integrated election among the chosen ones together with outsiders like Park for a single unified candidate.

Meanwhile, the governing Grand National Party is still searching for a candidate in and outside the party.

Han served as the nation’s first female Prime Minister (2006-2007) under the Roh Moo-hyun administration. Last year, Han lost to Oh Se-hoon, who ran in the Seoul mayoral election on the GNP ticket, with a narrow thin margin (0.6 percentage points). She currently is an advisor to the DP.

Han is facing a trial in the Seoul Central District Court for violating the Political Fund Law. Last month, the court decided to hold a final hearing on Sep. 19. Considering the fact that the court’s ruling usually comes two to four weeks after the hearing, the outcome is likely to affect the mayoral election.

Last December, Han was indicted for received 900 million won in cash from a company representative, while in office.

 







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