By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
The pro-government camp will select a presidential candidate by Oct. 14 through an open primary which allows non-party members to vote, camp officials said Thursday.
Seven hopefuls are expected to vie in the primary, which is scheduled to begin Sept. 15.
They include former Gyeonggi Governor Sohn Hak-kyu; former Chairman Chung Dong-young of the pro-government Uri Party; former Prime Ministers Han Myeong-sook and Lee Hae-chan; Rep. Kim Hyuk-kyu of the Uri Party; former Minister of Justice Chun Jung-bae; and former Minister of Government Administration and Home Affairs Kim Doo-kwan.
``The seven aspirants agreed to hold the open primary and a pre-primary race to cull presidential hopefuls before the open primary begins,'' said an official of the council for the promotion of the primary. ``We will decide on detailed rules on the primary after a coalition of liberal groups is created.''
The council, which consists of Uri deserters and members of civic groups, hosted several meetings for the hopefuls.
They agreed on July 4 to create a grand coalition in the run-up to the Dec. 19 presidential election. However, it seems that their way of creating a coalition is too complicated.
Co-Chairman Park Sang-cheon of the Centrist United Democratic Party (CUDP) keeps refusing to join the coalition, saying moves for the alliance are merely a jumble of some lawmakers, not a coalition.
Meanwhile, 15 Uri lawmakers, including Song Young-gil, threatened to leave the party, denouncing party leaders who waver in merging its force with the CUDP and other liberal groups.
About eight lawmakers of the CUDP also announced they will quit the party soon to create a new party with potential Uri deserters.