Another ruling party lawmaker has decided not to run in the April parliamentary elections to allow a fresh start for the embattled conservatives.
Rep. Park Jin, a three-term lawmaker from the key Seoul constituency of Jongno, said Friday that he will not seek a fourth term.
“To pull the party out of a crisis, I give up all my vested rights,” the 55-year-old politician said during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul. “I’ll sacrifice myself to bring about real change and reform the GNP.”
Rep. Park Jin of the ruling Grand National Party. (Yonhap News)
The Oxford-educated politician first entered politics as press secretary to former President Kim Young-sam, who served from 1993-1998. The diplomat-turned-lawmaker is an expert in foreign affairs and diplomacy, especially in the issue of inter-Korean relations.
He joined a group of GNP lawmakers who decided not to seek another parliamentary term. They include first-term Reps. Jungwook Hong, Chang Je-won and Hyun Ki-hwan, as well as Rep. Lee Sang-deuk, six-term lawmaker and brother of President Lee Myung-bak. All have expressed hopes that their decision will help the party’s efforts to rebuild itself and regain the confidence of voters.
The GNP has been beset by a series of by-election defeats, corruption scandals and a devastating allegation that its officials were involved in a cyber attack against the national election watchdog during the Oct. 26 Seoul mayoral by-election.
Its recently picked chief Rep. Park Geun-hye said she would adopt a set of strict guidelines in screening the party’s candidates for the April election, while seeking to bring in fresh faces.
By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)
