By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Presidential hopefuls and party leaders flocked to Gwangju Thursday to mark the May 18 democratic movement.
Park Geun-hye, a leading presidential contender of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP), visited the city and attended a ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the movement.
This was her first visit to South Jeolla Province since the feud with her rival Lee Myung-bak was resolved after the two contenders reached a compromise on nomination rules, as Lee agreed to exclude a controversial clause on opinion polls, to be reflected in the primary.
During her visit to a facility for people suffering Hansen's disease, Park, a former GNP chairwoman, said a formidable challenge facing these patients is a mistaken belief in the disease and pledged to do her part to solve the problem.
Party insiders said Park might have intended to indirectly attack Lee, a former Seoul mayor who has been under fire after he allegedly made inappropriate remarks on abortion against the disabled in an interview on Wednesday.
Independent presidential hopeful Sohn Hak-kyu went down to the southwestern city for a two-day visit.
He said the test run of the inter-Korean railway is a good thing, and the government has to seek ways of connecting the lines, to ensure peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Rep. Kim Geun-tae and Chung Dong-young, who both served as chairman of the pro-government Uri Party, also participated in the ceremony.
Chairman Chung Sye-kyun of the Uri Party held a press conference there to unveil the party's strategy for the creation of a new party, his aides said.
In a speech, Park Sang-cheon, chairman of the Democratic Party (DP), stressed the DP's proactive role in a bill that set guidelines for the treatment of the victims of the movement.
Park said his party will continue to play a role in defending the best interests of the victims and their families.
He also said his party will take the lead role in creating a new party with key figures sharing moderate political values and by doing so win the upcoming presidential election in December.