(LEAD) Ruling party's internal feud intensifies over 'Sejong City' plan

(ATTN: UPDATES with legislators' comments in paras 14-17; minor changes throughout)
By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Feb. 11 (Yonhap) -- The presidential office on Thursday demanded a formal
apology from Park Geun-hye, an in-house rival to President Lee Myung-bak,
accusing her of defaming and misconstruing recent comments by the head of state.

Park, likely to be a strong presidential contender in 2012 on the ruling Grand
National Party (GNP) ticket, tersely dismissed the demand, highlighting an
internal feud that has intensified over the president's push to revise his
predecessor's ambitious project to relocate several ministries out of the capital
Seoul to Sejong City, located in the Chungcheong region.
"With regard to Rep. Park's remarks, (I think) appropriate explanations and
official measures are needed and (we) demand those," said Lee Dong-gwan, the
presidential secretary for public relations. When asked to elaborate, he said the
measures would include a formal apology.
The secretary's comments were in reference to Park's reaction Wednesday to
statements made by the president during a trip to the central Chungcheong region
the previous day.
Lee and Park, commanding two of the largest factions within the ruling party,
have long been at loggerheads over the Sejong City issue. Park, former chairwoman
of the GNP, has held fast to her position that the government should press ahead
with the original plan to create an administrative town in South Chungcheong
Province. Her stance has become one of the biggest hurdles to gaining
parliamentary approval for the government's proposed revisions, which call for
the new city to be turned into a business-science hub.
The row between the president and Park dates back to their tight race to win the
party ticket for the 2007 presidential elections. Lee narrowly defeated Park to
become the flagbearer of the GNP.
Speaking to Chungcheong officials in front of the media during his visit to the
region, the president made use of a metaphor to call for national unity that some
later interpreted as a thinly-veiled attack on Park.
"A good family stops fighting internally when a burglar enters the house. They
join forces to fight the burglar first and then go back to their own fight," Lee
said.
Cheong Wa Dae immediate denied media speculation that the remark was aimed at Park.
Park acknowledged Wednesday that what the president said was in essence correct.
"But what if a member of the family suddenly changes his mind and becomes a
burglar?" she added.
The presidential secretary said Park's response was inappropriate and
bewildering. He said the heavyweight politician showed a lack of "etiquette" in
speaking about the head of state who "spares no efforts" for the country's
development.
The secretary reiterated that in talking about a burglar, the president was
emphasizing the importance of national unity in dealing with the global economic
crisis and other challenges.
Park flatly dismissed the presidential office's demand for an apology, saying
there was "no problem" with her remarks, her aides said.
Rep. Chung Doo-Un, a key supporter of President Lee, said Park was acting as if
she was "already the president."
"I had to doubt my own ears. I could not believe she had the nerve to say those
words to the head of state," he told reporters after a party meeting.
Legislators close to Park accused presidential secretary Lee of turning the
matter into a political game by deliberately misinterpreting Park's remarks.
"There is not even a need to react to such groundless accusations," said Rep. Lee
Jung-hyun. "Those remarks were not spoken against (the president). Secretary Lee
should be ashamed of attempting to deepen the misunderstanding within the party."
Park, the daughter of late President Park Chung-hee, has shown signs that she is
preparing for the 2012 presidential race. Lee is prohibited from running for a
second term under the Constitution.
Park is leading opinion polls on who will likely become the next president,
although analysts say it is too early to predict the winner of the 2012 election.
Some political observers portray the Lee-Park conflict as a fight between the
"current power" and the "future power."
(END)

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