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UNCLAS SEOUL 003137 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KN KS PGOV PREL PINR
SUBJECT: LEE UNVEILS OFFICIAL CAMPAIGN LEADERSHIP TEAM 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: In forming his campaign leadership team, 
Grand National Party (GNP) presidential candidate Lee 
Myung-bak tried to combine both party members and outside 
figures in what he termed a "2 6" leadership formula - two 
campaign chairmen from within the party plus six co-chairs 
from outside.  The camp features a horizontal structure, 
where each aide directly reports to Lee.  Reflecting his 
extremely businesslike management style, the composition of 
his strategy team - younger, reformist, and pragmatic - is 
quite different than past "old-boy" GNP election camps. 
Meanwhile, Lee has made little progress in fulfilling 
promises to engage former GNP chairperson and primary 
runner-up Park Geun-hye and her supporters.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------------------ 
THE STRUCTURE: ALL ROADS LEAD TO LEE 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) Lee's organization differs from the traditional 
vertical hierarchy common to past political camps which 
funneled all decisions through a second-in-command.  Instead, 
Lee's campaign has a horizontal structure where many aides 
report directly to Lee.  Some Lee camp members have privately 
expressed concern to poloffs that this could lead to 
infighting rather than engendering healthy competition within 
the camp.  Lee himself, in another departure from the norm, 
assumed the chairmanship of two key campaign organizations: 
the Economic Revitalization Special Committee and the 
Strategic Public Relations Coordination Council.  The 
lawmakers leading his campaign's regional chapters also 
report directly to Lee. 
 
¶3. (SBU) One of Lee's key advisors who guided personnel 
decisions, Representative Chung Doo-un, said the campaign 
composition focused on policy-oriented outside experts rather 
than political figures.  These experts are expected to 
counsel Lee on areas outside his expertise, e.g. foreign 
policy.  Even in familiar territory like economics, Lee 
brought in former Woori Bank president and financial expert 
Hwang Young-ki to be Vice Chair of the Economic 
Revitalization Special Committee. 
 
----------------------------- 
CO-CHAIRS: FOCUS ON EXPERTISE 
----------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The two party members who will head Lee's campaign 
are Kang Jae-sup, GNP Chairman, and Ahn Sang-soo, the GNP 
Floor Leader.  The other co-chairmen are: Yoo Chong-ha, 
former Foreign Minister; Park Chan-mo, former POSTECH 
president; Bae Eun-hee, President & CEO of Lizen Biotech; and 
Kim Sung-yi, professor at Ewha Womans University.  Lee still 
intends to name two more co-chairs from outside to fulfill 
his "2 6" leadership plan.  Each outside co-chair is assigned 
to different policy area: Yoo Chong-ha on Foreign Affairs and 
National Security; Park Chan-mo on Education, Science and 
Technology; Bae Eun-hee on Future New Industry; and Kim 
Sung-yi on Social Welfare.  (NOTE: Yoo Chong-ha was Foreign 
Minister (1996-98) in the Kim Young-sam Administration.) 
 
¶5. (SBU) Regardless of the launch of an official campaign 
organization, the four most influential Lee Myung-bak 
advisers will likely retain their power.  They are: Lee 
Sang-deuk, Vice Speaker of the National Assembly and Lee's 
elder brother; Choi See-joong, former Gallup Korea chairman; 
Lee Jae-o, GNP Supreme Council Member; and Chung Doo-un, GNP 
lawmaker.  Lee Jae-o is Lee's Vice Chairman in charge of 
Strategic Public Relations, and Chung Doo-un is the Control 
Officer of the Strategic Planning Department, a key component 
of the organization.  The supreme - albeit informal -- 
decision-making body of the camp is the "six-member council," 
comprised of Lee Myung-bak, Lee Sang-deuk, Choi See-joong, 
former National Assembly Vice Speaker Park Hee-tae, Lee Jae-o 
and GNP lawmaker Kim Deog-ryong.  They are said to meet twice 
a week. 
 
----------------- 
ACADEMIC ADVISORS 
----------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Some of the academics and former government 
officials on Lee's policy advisory team include: 
 
-- Policy Oversight and Counsel: Kang Man-soo, former Vice 
Finance Minister; Sakong Il, Chairman & CEO of the Institute 
of Global Economics (and former Finance Minister under 
President Chun Doo-whan); and Ahn Byung-man, former President 
of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, 
 
-- Policy coordination: Ryu Woo-ik, Seoul National 
University; and Baek Yong-ho, Ewha Women's University, 
 
-- Foreign affairs: Kim Woo-sang, Yonsei University; Hyun 
In-taek, Korea University; Nam Sung-wook, Korea University; 
Kim Tae-hyo, Sungkyunkwan University; Lee Jung-min, Yonsei 
University; Kim Dong-sung, Chung Ang University; Nam 
Joo-hong, Kyunggi University; and Cho Joong-bin at Kookmin 
University, 
 
-- Economy: Kwak Seung-joon, Korea University, who is also 
Lee's chief policy aide; Yoo Jang-hee at Ewha Women's 
University; and Kang Myung-heon, Dankuk University, 
 
-- Canal project: Cho Won-chul, Yonsei University; and Song 
Jae-woo, Hongik University. 
 
-------------------------------- 
CAMPAIGN AIDES: A NEW GENERATION 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Many of Lee's aides are former student activists now 
in their 40's, not the conservative old guard the public is 
used to from GNP campaigns. 
 
-- Lee Tae-kyu, Strategy Planning Chief Aide, is a student 
activist-turned election strategist.  He started his 
political career with the Democratic Party in 1990, but later 
joined the GNP in 1997.  After working (2004-2005) at the 
Yoido Institute, a GNP think tank, he worked as a planning 
chief for Oh Se-hoon during his Seoul Mayoral campaign in 
¶2006. 
 
-- Kwak Seung-joon, Policy Chief Aide and Professor of 
Economics at Korea University, is a Lee policy advisor.  They 
have known each other since the late 1990s, discussed policy 
issues beginning when Lee ran for Seoul Mayor in 2002, and 
have had weekly "study sessions" since 2004.  Kwak 
coordinates on most of Lee's policy pledges.  As Chief Editor 
of the Korea University Newspaper for six years now, Kwak 
also tries to keep in close contact with the younger 
generation. 
 
-- Chung Tae-geun, Organization Chief Aide, started out as a 
staffer for Lee's rival Hong Sa-duk in the GNP's 2002 
nomination race for Seoul Mayor.  It was Lee who first 
reached out to Chung after that election.  Chung joined the 
GNP in 2000 in the run-up to the 16th general elections, and 
he twice ran and lost in bids for National Assembly seats in 
2000 and 2004.  After being appointed Vice Seoul Mayor for 
Political Affairs in 2005, Chung was instrumental in pushing 
forward many of Lee's major projects, including the 
Chonggyechon stream project, and in defending against 
negative attacks. 
 
-- Ji Seung-rim, Chief Public Relations Aide, is the only 
chief aide in his 50's.  A former executive at Samsung Group, 
Ji is known for his brilliance in shaping, fine-tuning, and 
publicizing policies.  Some of his products include Lee's 
"7-4-7" economic policy and the idea to transform the 
reclaimed land of Saemangeum into a Korean version of Dubai. 
Former Vice Finance Minister Kang Man-soo introduced Ji to 
Lee. 
 
-- Jin Sung-ho, Chief New Media Aide, was originally a 
reporter at the Chosun Ilbo specializing in media and the 
internet.  MB and Jin are said to have become friends while 
"fighting" - Jin posted an internet article critical of Lee 
in 2005, Lee protested, and they became occasional contacts. 
Now Jin serves as MB's sparring partner; he played opposite 
Lee to prepare for the "verification hearings" in the run-up 
to the party primary. 
 
-- Kim Hae-su, Deputy Chief of Staff, is another student 
activist-turned politician.  He first joined politics in 1996 
as an assistant to Representative Ahn Sang-soo, current Floor 
Leader of the GNP.  Later he was an aide to former GNP 
chairman Lee Hoi-chang and was media chief in the 2002 
election.  Kim first met Lee Myung-bak in 1996, but got on 
board in earnest in 2002 when Lee ran for Seoul Mayor. 
Representative Lee Jae-o was crucial in getting him into the 
camp. 
 
-- Park Dae-won, Senior Foreign Relations Advisor, was 
formerly Ambassador (2002-2005) to Algeria, and Foreign 
Relations Advisor (2005-2006) to Lee Myung-bak when he was 
Seoul Mayor.  He also hails from Lee's hometown of Pohang. 
 
 
------------------------- 
CONTINUING RIFT WITH PARK 
------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Rival and runner-up in the GNP Primary Park 
Geun-hye was named Standing Advisor to the Lee campaign and 
other close Park aides were given symbolic roles. 
Representative Kim Moo-sung was named Vice Chairman of the 
campaign and Representative Choi Kyung-hwan, Executive 
Manager of the Economic Revitalization Special Committee. 
However, Park does not seem ready yet to actively campaign 
for Lee.  She recently complained her aides are being 
ostracized and excluded from key posts.  As long as Lee's 
approval ratings stay above 50 percent, the importance of 
support from Park and her followers diminishes considerably. 
Nevertheless, Lee and Kim Moo-sung, Park's closest aide, 
recently shared soju at a street-side bar in Busan to help 
bridge the gap between the two camps. 
VERSHBOW