Roh-Chung Alliance Hitting a Snag

The negotiation process between the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) and the National Alliance 21 has hit a fresh snag yesterday. Chung Mong-joon, the presidential candidate of the National Alliance 21 demanded nullifying the reached agreement and embarking on a new round of negotiation as the confidential details of the agreement were exposed to media.

The MDP believes that there is no problem with the reached agreement on how to conduct TV debates to nominate a single candidate. But the National Alliance 21 strongly demand that the agreed method for TV debates be revised partly so that they can reflect the competitiveness of candidates in fighting against Lee Hoi-chang, the presidential candidate of the Grand National Party(GNP). Thus it is expected to take time for the two parties to iron out their differences.

Thus there is possibility that both parties could fail to field a single candidate before the Nov. 27 candidate registration period.

Lee Chul, chief negotiator of Chung`s party said in a press conference that both parties agreed not to reveal all the details of the agreement on a public survey to ensure fairness, but high-ranking MDP officials revealed them to media. He added that it was a deplorable situation and the party would explore a new way to conduct a fair public survey.

Kim Haeng, the spokesperson of the National Alliance 21 also suggested that the party would review the agreed way to field a single candidate, saying, “If it is impossible to select a presidential candidate in a fair and objective manner, we should take all possible ways into consideration.”

Against this backdrop, Lee Hae-chan, chief secretary of the MDP and Lee Chul of the National Alliance 21 held a series of unofficial meetings to discuss the issue and decided to reach an agreement on the way to conduct a public survey as soon as possible through a face-to-face meeting between both presidential candidates.

But after the meetings, Lee Hae-chan said that the National Alliance 21 overreacted a little and that there was no specific demand from the National Alliance 21.

In a departure from his remarks, Lee Chul reaffirmed the party`s position to revise the agreement, said that they could discuss again on possible problems through the revelation of the details of the agreement.

Young-Chan Yoon Sung-Won Park yyc11@donga.com swpark@donga.com