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UNCLAS SEOUL 000331 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KS PGOV PINR PREL
SUBJECT: ROK PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE LEE MYUNG-BAK: 
CONSERVATIVE POLITICS, PROGRESSIVE HEART? 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Former Seoul Mayor and opposition Grand 
National Party (GNP) Presidential Candidate Lee Myung-bak is 
topping the charts with 44.6 percent approval ratings, 
according to a January 30 Donga Ilbo Newspaper poll. 
Promising affordable homes for newly married couples, jobs 
for all and programs for the homeless, he has garnered 
support not just from the conservative GNP supporters but 
also the traditional progressive party base.  The younger 
generation is attracted by his life story and "can do" 
attitude and admires his accomplishments as Seoul Mayor and 
his successes at Hyundai.  His miraculous rise from a 
destitute upbringing to Hyundai CEO to leading presidential 
candidate inspires many, and his amazing life story is the 
source of much of his current support.  End Summary 
 
Leader of Hope 
-------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Lee Myung-bak has a natural and captivating speech 
style that is more folksy and personal than that of the other 
candidates, poloff has observed.  Lee plays crowds well and 
as the charismatic presidential front-runner, receives rock 
star treatment wherever he goes.  Lee delivers lessons 
through anecdotes and lays out his future policy plans by 
highlighting what he did as Seoul Mayor or Hyundai CEO.  Some 
have said that his speeches are sermon-like in their pace and 
theme.  Currently, he is working to depict himself as a 
"leader of hope."  The business cards of Anguk Forum, a think 
tank which currently serves as Lee's de facto campaign 
headquarters until he launches his official campaign in 
February, represent Lee's campaign slogan.  "Anguk" in Korean 
is defined as "peaceful nation."  The open door on the 
business cards symbolizes an "open door to the future." 
 
Campaign Inertia: Danger in Size? 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Lee has a well-financed campaign with over 100 
formal and informal staff, and an impressive network of 
lawmakers supporting his candidacy at the National Assembly. 
However, there are rumors of controversies and infighting 
within the organization.  Pundits have compared the struggles 
within the Forum to the troubles Lee Hoe-chang's camp 
suffered in the 2002 presidential election when there was 
infighting over prospective Blue House positions before the 
election. Up until mid-January 2007, numbers were written on 
the business cards that tracked the order in which people had 
joined Lee Myung-bak's campaign.  However, rumor was that the 
numbers represented in rank order who was closest to Lee. 
 
GNP United? 
----------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) In a speech Lee delivered in Busan on January 23 
that poloff observed, Lee said that the greatest challenge 
facing the GNP was uniting behind one candidate for the 2007 
presidential election.  To this end, he complimented the 
other two leading GNP presidential hopefuls and proclaimed 
that he would not participate in any negative campaigns.  His 
recent comment that women who have no children have no 
authority to speak on educational reform was not directed at 
Park Geun-hye and was taken out of context, he insisted.  He 
added that the comment was highlighted by the media since "a 
fight sells papers."  He vowed he would be more careful in 
future speeches.  Most pundits agree that if either Lee or 
Park leave the GNP to form a new party, it would open the 
door for a ruling party candidate, much as in 1997 when Rhee 
In-je and Lee Hoe-chang split the GNP vote and this led to 
Kim Dae-jung's election. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) One of Lee Myung-bak's leading advisors at the 
National Assembly, GNP lawmaker Chung Doo-un, told poloff 
that Lee's greatest hurdle to overcome was himself - to 
physically keep up the hectic campaigning pace he has already 
begun until December and also to avoid making a mistake in a 
speech.  Pundits say the "bulldozer" faces many challenges, 
from possible past misdeeds to, in the age of the internet 
and UCC (user created content), his off-the-cuff speaking 
style, either of which could lead to deflation of the support 
he now enjoys. 
 
Rags to Riches 
-------------- 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Lee Myung-bak was born into an abjectly poor 
farming household in 1941 in Osaka, Japan and came to Pohang 
in 1945 after Korea was liberated.  Lee had to earn a living 
working odd jobs since his elementary school years; adding 
sulfur covers to matches and selling them, and selling street 
snacks such as fried silkworms.  His mother allowed him to 
attend high school at night as long as he was able to receive 
a scholarship by remaining the top student.  Lee jokes that 
he was able to maintain the number one rank in his class not 
because of his smarts but because no one in his class had the 
time to study.  His mother told him not to be embarrassed to 
sell snacks and be proud because he was earning an honest 
living.  He said his dream was always to have a stable job 
and he thought that with a job, no matter the pay, comes 
happiness.  Hence, at the heart of his economic platform is 
job creation for all ages and at all wage levels. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) After coming to Seoul to earn money after high 
school, while working as a laborer, he studied with used 
books he bought at used bookstores near Cheonggye Stream, and 
graduated from prestigious Korea University with a BA in 
business management.  While serving as the student council 
president in 1964, he was arrested for leading a protest 
against the ROK-Japan normalization of diplomatic relations, 
which many students then considered an unfair agreement.  He 
was released after serving six months in jail. 
 
The Lucky Exchange 
------------------ 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Due to his imprisonment, Lee could not get a job 
upon graduation.  Therefore he wrote a heartfelt letter to 
then President Park Chung-hee (father of Lee's GNP opponent 
Park Geun-hye) saying, "If a government hinders an 
individual's way of life, then the government would be 
forever indebted to that individual."  According to first 
hand accounts, the Blue House staff directly intervened due 
to Lee's impassioned letter and decided to pardon him. 
Thanks to this pardon, he was able to enter Hyundai 
Construction Company, on the condition that he would 
"behave." 
 
¶9.  (SBU) In speeches, Lee recalls that Chung Joo-young, then 
Chairman of Hyundai Group, asked him one question in his job 
interview, "What is construction?" to which Lee responded 
with, "Construction is creation."  After the interview Lee 
said that Chung used this phrase in many speeches.  While the 
phrase may have been his ticket into the Hyundai Group, lore 
has it that former President Park Chung-hee approached Chung 
about hiring Lee and during the brief exchange between Park 
and Chung, there was miscommunication where Park's warning of 
"look out for him" was interpreted to mean "take care of 
him."  This conversation is another factor, if true, that 
could have contributed to Lee's quick rise at Hyundai. 
 
Miraculous Success 
------------------ 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Once MB (as he is known to most) became a 
"Hyundai-man," his capabilities as a manager began to show. 
He became a member of the board (managing director) in five 
years and president of Hyundai Construction Company in 12 
years at the age of 35.  He became the model for the dream of 
success that many salary men aspired to in the 1980s and 
1990s.  His life story was so compelling that in 1991 KBS 
produced a drama about Lee's life, "Times of Ambition" and 
MBC followed up with a drama in 2004, "Times of Heroes." 
According to Lee, the 1991 drama was 95 percent accurate in 
its depiction of his life and his relation to Hyundai 
Chairman Chung Joo-young.  Lee currently has three 
biographies out, two on his life ("There is No Myth" and "I 
See Hope, When Others Talk Despair") and one about his time 
as Seoul Mayor ("Cheonggye Stream Flows Towards the Future"). 
 
 
On to Politics 
-------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) In 1992 he shifted to politics and won a 
proportional representation seat in the National Assembly for 
the then-ruling Democratic Liberal Party.  He successfully 
won re-election in 1996 from the Jongro district in Seoul, 
 
defeating candidate Roh Moo-hyun and Lee Jong-chan.  Lee 
highlights in speeches the fact he beat President Roh in 1996 
as a relatively unknown politician. 
 
Seoul Mayor:  A Man with a Plan 
------------------------------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) As the Mayor of Seoul from 2002-2006, Lee 
completed the Cheonggye stream restoration project that 
uncovered  uncovered a 3.5-mile stretch of the stream.  Since 
the stream was reopened in October 2005 after fifty years 
under concrete, millions of visitors have walked along the 
stream.  This project thrust him onto the national political 
stage and made him an instant presidential favorite.  Lee has 
frequently stated that when he pitched the Cheonggye stream 
restoration project people thought it was impossible; 
however, he declared he does not make empty promises and he 
boasts of the realization of this project despite doubters. 
Hoping to further capitalize on the success of Cheonggye 
stream restoration project, he has proposed as one of his 
main campaign pledges a canal project connecting Seoul, 
Busan, Incheon, and eventually Pyongyang.  Even though there 
are waterways that conceivably could connect Busan to Seoul 
except one 20-mile stretch, many see the canal project as 
technically impossible and likely to generate huge opposition 
from environmental groups. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Lee says the Cheonggye stream restoration project 
and re-organizing the bus system were the projects he 
receives the most acclaim for but are not what he is most 
proud.  Instead, Lee says that helping homeless people find 
jobs and restoring the underdeveloped areas of Seoul were his 
biggest achievements as Seoul Mayor. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶14.  (SBU) Having won mass appeal through his CEO past and 
achievements as Seoul Mayor, Lee will focus on the economy in 
his campaigning until the Spring when he will start to 
address more specific foreign policy issues, Lee's advisors 
told poloff.  If the presidential election were held today, 
Lee would likely win.  However, with over 10 months left 
until the election, the race is far from over.  Lee's camp, 
as confident as they are, commented that they will not make 
the mistake Lee Hoe-chang made and be secure with a lead in 
the polls. (Note: In Donga's January 30 poll, Lee had a 26.4 
percent lead over the second-place candidate Park Geun-hye 
and 43.1 percent lead over the nearest ruling party 
candidate, Chung Dong-young.  End Note).  However Lee does in 
December, he brings a unique and captivating life story and 
personal style and as the clear front-runner, has everyone 
talking about what kind of person he is and what kind of 
leader he might become. 
VERSHBOW