Politicians and the media that follow what they say and do often contrive expressions, some of which draw a nod of assent or raised eyebrows. Massacre is one such expression.

The word is commonly used when a large number of members of a major party faction fail to get nomination for elections due to intraparty politics. This is exactly what is happening at the ruling Saenuri Party.

Saenuri is not the only party undergoing upheavals over the nomination of candidates for the April 13 general election, but the selective way it is defenestrating politicians who are not loyal to President Park Geun-hye means the word massacre can be used without reservation.

The onslaught against the “non-Parks” is being led by the party’s nomination chief Rep. Lee Hahn-koo, who is a key member of the pro-Park faction. But the main problem is that there are solid reasons to believe that Park herself is behind the removal of the lawmakers and candidates.

The first group that has been denied nomination is made up of figures close to Rep. Yoo Seong-min, a former floor leader whose criticism of the president’s “welfare expansion without tax hikes” policy enraged her.

Park accused Yoo of engaging in the “politics of betrayal” and stated publicly on several occasions that voters should make a fair judgement of such politicians and make sure they are replaced by “truthful” politicians in the election.

Will it be a coincidence, then, that most Saenuri lawmakers who are close to Yoo were deprived of nomination, which instead went to politicians close to the president?

Rep. Chin Young, elected from Yongsan, central Seoul, is another politician who was denied party nomination, apparently due to his sour relationship with the president. Chin was Park’s first health and welfare minister, but resigned from the post after clashing with the president over a pension plan for the elderly.

The second group of non-Parks who were eliminated are those who are close to former President Lee Myung-bak, who did not get on well with Park.

Both Lee Jae-oh, a five-term lawmaker, and Yim Tae-hee, Lee’s former Blue House chief of staff, claim that — and many agree — they were denied nomination purely because they are close to the former president.

By all accounts, the nominations are not being made in a transparent and objective manner. In many cases, candidates are given party tickets not on the basis of their competitiveness but how close they are to the president.

Party leader Kim Moo-sung, a non-Park, tried to reverse the tide by protesting the nomination panel’s decision and demanding a review, but the playing field is so tilted that it seems that there is little he can do stop the Pro-Parks’ dominance.

It is sad that the ruling party’s nomination is more geared toward strengthening the Park faction’s party hegemony than winning over the opposition. Whether a politician is truthful or not is a matter to be judged by voters, not the president. Park will get to know this truth on the late evening of April 13.