|
GNP seeks new faces to woo young voters |
|
|
Kang Ho-dong
|
By Chung Min-uck
The ruling Grand National Party (GNP) is considering recruiting new figures who can appeal to young voters following a painful defeat in the Oct. 26 Seoul mayoral by-election.
According to an exit poll conducted by three major broadcasters the GNP’s defeat was mainly due to less support from voters in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Park Won-soon, the unified liberal candidate, received 69.3 percent, 75.8 percent and 66.8 percent of the vote, respectively, from these age brackets to win the race.
The party’s search for new talent is in line with an analysis made by the Yeouido
Theresa Rah
|
Institute, the party’s policy think tank, last week. It referred to shuffling the current power structure ahead of the general elections slated for next April.
Names like Theresa Rah, 38, a former Arirang TV anchorwoman and communication director of PyeongChang’s 2018 bid committee, and Kang Ho-dong, 41, one of nation’s most popular TV presenters, are being mentioned.
Rah rose to stardom after an impressive speech during the bid for the Winter Olympics last July. Kang who is considered the No. 1 comedian in Korea recently announced his temporary retirement after coming under fire for tax evasion.
Yet, Rep. Joo Ho-young, chief of the GNP’s committee for outside recruitment, denied any specific measures being spoken of.
“Nothing is in place right now. There have never been any names mentioned within the party,” said Joo, Monday. “There are many urgent tasks ahead of us such as the Korea-U.S. FTA and budget deliberation.”
Regarding media reports that he had already made offers that had been rejected and that GNP is suffering in recruiting outsiders, Joo said, “I didn’t mean my offers were rejected; and it’s not true that the GNP isn’t popular with outside figures. What I said was that I felt there were various political tendencies among people outside the political circle when I met them earlier in my career. So it is nonsense to say (the GNP) is having trouble in recruiting,” added Joo.
Despite his denial, however, insiders say that specific plans to recruit fresh figures will start to shape up early next year after the passage of the urgent bills.
On the other hand, some GNP members worry that the indiscreet elimination of senior lawmakers in exchange for new faces could lead to a drop in political expertise, pushing the ruling party into a deeper turmoil in the long term.
“They are respectable people. But I don’t understand in what context those names were mentioned. It sounds like a joke,” said GNP lawmaker Chung Doo-un in a radio interview Monday.
Meanwhile, the GNP is also preparing a policy package for people in their 20s to 40s which it plans to reflect in next year’s budget allocation. Lee Ju-young, chief of the party’s policy committee announced that policies customized to the demand of each age bracket will be introduced this week. He said that policy for those in their 20s will focus on raising employment rates through tax benefits, while that for the 30s and 40s will be on expanding state support for child care and offering zero interest rates for housing.
|
|
한나라, ‘강호동-나승연-김난도’ 영입 검토 중
한나라당 내에서 내년 4월 총선을 위해 새로운 인물을 대거 영입해야 한다는 이른바 '신진 수혈론'이 급부상해 주목된다.
발단은 지난주 한나라당 주호영 인재영입위원장의 인터뷰에서부터 시작됐다.
주 의원은 13일 연합뉴스와의 통화에서 "한나라당이 부족하다거나 당이 가진 부정적인 이미지, 즉 국민과의 소통이나 2030세대 부분을 보완할 수 있는 인물이 발굴돼야 하지 않겠느냐"고 언급해 눈길을 끌었다.
이는 한나라당 싱크탱크인 여의도연구소가 내년 4월 총선 승리를 위해서 새로운 인물을 대거 영입할 필요가 있다고 주장한 것에 대한 부연 설명이다.
연합뉴스는 주 의원의 발언을 인용보도하며 한나라당 영입 대상 물망에 ▲김난도 서울대 소비자학과 교수 ▲나승연 평창 유치위원회 대변인 ▲'공부가 가장 쉬웠어요'의 주인공 장승수씨 ▲방송인 강호동 등이 거론되고 있다고 전했다.
김 교수는 지난 10.26 서울시장 보궐선거 전에도 영입 후보에 올랐던 인물.
특히 대중의 인기가 높고, 한나라당의 취약지대로 분류된 소셜네트워크서비스(SNS)에서도 강점을 발휘하고 있다는 점이 김 교수에 대한 영입설을 낳게 한 주요인으로 분석된다.
평창 동계올림픽 유치 주역으로 유명한 나승연 평창 유치위원회 대변인도 한나라당에 신선한 바람을 불러 일으킬 수 있다는 기대감에 주목 받고 있는 인사로 분류된다.
여기에 '공부가 가장 쉬웠어요' 신화의 주인공 장승수 씨와 씨름선수 출신 예능인 강호동의 영입설도 나온 것으로 전해졌으나 현실성은 극히 희박하다는 게 정치권 관계자들의 전언이다.
한 정계 인사는 "절박한 상황에 놓인 한나라당이 여러 특단의 대책을 논의 중, 아이디어 차원에서 강호동 같은 인물이 언급됐을 가능성은 있지만 이같은 발언이 실제 현실로 이어질지는 미지수"라고 밝히기도.
|
|
muchung@koreatimes.co.kr |
|
