By Kim Yon-se
Staff Reporter
The possibility of some lawmakers of the Grand National Party (GNP) dropping support for the party's presidential nominee Lee Myung-bak is getting higher as evidence of Lee's stock price manipulation mounts.
Rep. Koak Sung-moon, a close confidant of former GNP Chairwoman Park Geun-hye, Thursday left the GNP to support independent candidate Lee Hoi-chang. As a result, the number of GNP seats in the 299-member National Assembly decreased to 128. The United New Democratic Party has 140 seats.
In a statement, Koak said more than 100 GNP lawmakers are blindly following Lee Myung-bak's lies.
``I will do anything for the Lee Hoi-chang camp,'' he said. ``I will generate an electoral sensation, starting from (my hometown) Daegu.''
Asked if other confidants of Park, who was beaten by Lee Myung-bak in the GNP primary race to select presidential nominee, will also follow suit, Koak said, ``There are several more who will leave the party.''
If the prosecution's investigation results are made public on Dec. 5, about 15 more GNP lawmakers will move their position to support independent Lee Hoi-chang, who was formerly chairman of the conservative GNP.
Lee Myung-bak, who earlier shunned Park and her camp after his primary victory, has recently assumed a more humble attitude to enlist Park's help after Lee Hoi-chang declared his third bid for the presidency in early November.
Park has been cited as a critical factor for the conservatives because she leads a huge following in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province.