Ruling party elects president's confidant as floor leader

SEOUL, May 21 (Yonhap) -- The ruling Grand National Party (GNP) elected a longtime supporter of President Lee Myung-bak as its new floor leader Thursday in a closely watched race that gauged the influence of different factions in the party.

Ahn Sang-soo won the run-off election 95 to 62 against Rep. Hwang Woo-yea, a
close confidant of Rep. Park Geun-hye. The final count showed 158 out of 170
party legislators voted, with one abstention.
The election drew keen attention as it was largely viewed as a showdown between
the president and Park, a former GNP chairwoman who is considered a strong
candidate for the next presidential election.
Park, the eldest daughter of the late former President Park Chung-hee, who took
power through a military coup, lost her bid for the party's 2007 presidential
nomination to Lee. However, she still leads a large faction of party members who
often stand against Lee and his administration.
Ahn tried to embrace Park and her faction immediately after his election,
thanking the 57-year-old Park for the chance to compete for the post.
GNP chief Park Hee-tae and President Lee earlier proposed appointing Rep. Kim
Moo-sung, another supporter of Park Geun-hye, to the post as a way to draw her
and her faction closer to the president and party leadership. Park flatly
rejected the idea, saying a floor leader must be selected through a fair
election, as required by the party's charter.
"I will devote all my body and energy to the efforts to reunite the party," Ahn
said in his acceptance speech.
Thursday's election had started off as a three-way race that also included Rep.
Chung Eui-hwa, who was eliminated after the first round with 39 votes.
The GNP has 170 seats in the 299-seat parliament.
The presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, refused to make any official comment on
the outcome of the party election, as it has vowed to stay clear of party
affairs.
An official, however, noted the relationship between Cheong Wa Dae and the ruling
party will improve significantly, saying, "It is a relief that we have a
legislator who very well understands President Lee's governing ideas."
With Ahn's victory, his running mate Rep. Kim Seong-jo was elected the head of
the party policy committee.
A native of Masan, South Gyeongsang Province, Ahn, 62, began his political career
in 1995 when he was first elected to the National Assembly on the ticket of the
ruling New Korea Party, the predecessor of the GNP.
He worked on Lee's election camp before he was elected to his fourth consecutive
term last year. He currently serves on the National Assembly Foreign Affairs,
Trade and Unification Committee.