ID :
204999
Sat, 09/03/2011 - 10:21
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/204999
The shortlink copeid
Leading presidential contender to visit culture expo, athletics games
SEOUL, Sept. 3 (Yonhap) -- A leading contender for South Korea's presidency will visit the Gyeongju culture exposition and the international athletics championships as she begins to increase her public exposure ahead of next year's race, aides said Saturday.
Rep. Park Geun-hye will tour the 2011 Gyeongju World Culture Expo, which has become an annual attraction in the historic city located 370 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
The city in North Gyeongsang Province is also a core support base for the four-term lawmaker from the conservative Grand National Party (GNP), who is the daughter of former President Park Chung-hee.
Aides said that she will tour the expo site and meet with organizers for the event that has been held each of the past six years. The expo will run for 60 days up until Oct. 10.
The lawmaker will then move to Gyeongsan to meet with GNP officials before heading to Daegu, where the 13th World Championships in Athletics are currently being held through Sunday.
The lawmakers office said that she was invited by the expo organizers to Gyeongju and will visit the athletics games as public interest is high in the major international sporting event that South Korea is hosting for the first time.
Political observers said that the trip, as well as recent meetings with the press, marks a gradual change in Park's stance, which has become more aggressive in recent months.
In the past, she had been criticized for being almost reclusive in making known her positions on a host of issues. This, however, has started to change, with some pundits forecasting the former GNP chairwoman will play a role in the upcoming by-election to pick the next mayor of Seoul.
On Thursday, Park, who is widely considered as the front-runner in the 2012 elections that will pick President Lee Myung-bak's successor, called for an upgrade in Seoul's North Korean policy and voiced support for the massive Siberian gas pipeline projects that would bring natural gas produced in Russia through North Korea to the South.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
Rep. Park Geun-hye will tour the 2011 Gyeongju World Culture Expo, which has become an annual attraction in the historic city located 370 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
The city in North Gyeongsang Province is also a core support base for the four-term lawmaker from the conservative Grand National Party (GNP), who is the daughter of former President Park Chung-hee.
Aides said that she will tour the expo site and meet with organizers for the event that has been held each of the past six years. The expo will run for 60 days up until Oct. 10.
The lawmaker will then move to Gyeongsan to meet with GNP officials before heading to Daegu, where the 13th World Championships in Athletics are currently being held through Sunday.
The lawmakers office said that she was invited by the expo organizers to Gyeongju and will visit the athletics games as public interest is high in the major international sporting event that South Korea is hosting for the first time.
Political observers said that the trip, as well as recent meetings with the press, marks a gradual change in Park's stance, which has become more aggressive in recent months.
In the past, she had been criticized for being almost reclusive in making known her positions on a host of issues. This, however, has started to change, with some pundits forecasting the former GNP chairwoman will play a role in the upcoming by-election to pick the next mayor of Seoul.
On Thursday, Park, who is widely considered as the front-runner in the 2012 elections that will pick President Lee Myung-bak's successor, called for an upgrade in Seoul's North Korean policy and voiced support for the massive Siberian gas pipeline projects that would bring natural gas produced in Russia through North Korea to the South.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
