By Rachel Lee
President Park Geun-hye is apparently seeking to extend her influence over state affairs after she finishes her term in 2018 with her loyalists dominating the ruling Saenuri Party's nominations for the April 13 general election.
The ruling Saenuri Party's nominations committee dominated by the pro-Park faction excluded many of those who do not support Park, including incumbent lawmakers close to former President Lee Myung-bak.
Out of 250 nominated candidates, over 120 of them are deemed loyal to Park.
Observers say the pro-Park faction dominates the ruling party after the election, Park may influence the selection of the party's presidential candidate for the 2017 race.
"Since lawmakers serve a four-year term, the president could still be in power even after two years as long as her loyalists maintain control within the party," said Choi Chang-ryul, a professor of political science at Yongin University. "Through taking the risk of eliminating rival factions before the general election, the pro-Park faction is aiming to take control of the new government after Park's resignation. This is the beginning of a power struggle between the pro-Park and anti-Park faction vying for the presidential election in 2017."
The professor said the pro-Park faction's domination also comes as Cheong Wa Dae is determined to prevent President Park from becoming a lame-duck.
"This is a typical case of a power struggle within the party," said Shin Yul, a professor of political science at Myongji University. "Park's loyalists tried to reshuffle the party, and it was possible for them to do so because it seems the party doesn't have a leader anymore."
The current "crisis" has disappointed voters, experts say.
"Voters won't accept what the Saenuri Party has done in the nomination process. It showed a complete abuse of power, and completely ignored public sentiment," said Choi. "The party leader even rejected approving nominations, which is an unprecedented crisis. The Saenuri Party put themselves at a disadvantage."
On Thursday, Party Chairman Rep. Kim Moo-sung refused to convene a party meeting, during which the remaining proposed candidates put forward by the party's nominations committee, controlled by loyalists to President Park Geun-hye, were to be approved.
Kim took the chairman's seal, required to approve the nominations, with him to Busan in an apparent move to block the pro-Park faction from endorsing the nominations in his absence.
An opinion poll conducted by Realmeter in the fourth week of March showed that the approval rating of the party fell to 39.6 percent, a decrease of 1.9 percentage points compared to the previous week.
Park's approval rating also fell by 2.3 percentage points, standing at 39.2 percent. And in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, where the nomination fight started, the ratings fell by 8.4 and 11.5 percentage points, respectively.