S. Korea Ruling Party Softens North Korea Stance in New Platform
January 30, 2012, 5:59 AM ESTBy Sangwon Yoon
Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- South Korea’s embattled ruling Grand National Party softened its stance toward North Korea in a new policy platform that seeks to appeal to voters ahead of this year’s parliamentary and presidential elections.
President Lee Myung Bak’s party today passed a manifesto pledging to restructure social welfare and boost employment, spokesman Hwang Young Chul said in a statement. The party leadership removed statements calling on North Korea to improve its human rights record and change its communist system into a democracy.
Public discontent is rising over Lee’s economic management and ruling party scandals. Two GNP officials were indicted this month on charges of hacking into the National Election Commission’s website to disrupt last October’s Seoul mayoral race, which was won by an opposition candidate. Prosecutors today raided the foreign ministry following allegations a senior diplomat was involved in a stock manipulation scam.
Interim party leader Park Geun Hye today said, “the GNP is being born as a completely new party,” in a speech broadcast on radio. “If we want to be trustworthy party, the people must change and the policies must also change.”
Park, daughter of former president Park Chung Hee, is considered the GNP frontrunner to succeed Lee in December elections if she declares her candidacy.
Tensions with North Korea have risen since Lee reversed his predecessor’s stance of engagement, and 50 South Koreans died in attacks in 2010. The totalitarian state rejected Lee’s offer for dialogue following last month’s death of dictator Kim Jong Il and the succession of his son, Kim Jong Un.
South Korea’s largest opposition party yesterday unveiled its out election platform. The Democratic United Party called for increasing regulations against the country’s conglomerates, known as chaebols, in order to restrict their influence, party spokesman Lee Yong Sub told CBS Radio today in an interview.
--Editors: John Brinsley, Mark Williams
To contact the reporter on this story: Sangwon Yoon in Seoul at syoon32@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Hirschberg at phirschberg@bloomberg.net; John Brinsley at jbrinsley@bloomberg.net
