Articles by mgedwards

Goh stops presidential run

Former Korean presidential hopeful Goh Kun announced today that he would not seek office in December’s Korean presidential election.  The Korean Presidential election, held once every five years, was expected to be a very competitive race until former Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak took a commanding lead in recent public opinion polls.  Mr. Lee, the leading candidate for the conservative Grand National Party (GNP), and his rival, Park Geun-hye, GNP party leader, placed first and second, respectively, in recent opinion polls.  Mr. Goh, a former GNP member, left the GNP last year to run as a centrist independent.  He was lobbied by members of the ruling Uri Party and the Democratic Party (DP) to serve as the presidential nominee for a unified, yet-to-be-named merged party.  However, Mr. Goh resisted attempts to join Uri and/or the DP, and he may have dropped out of the race after he determined that he could not win the presidency as an independent.
 
Mr. Goh’s departure affects the presidential race by strengthening the hand of the GNP.  Barring an unexpected popularity surge by another candidate, either Mr. Lee or Ms. Park seem assured to become the next Korean president, replacing outgoing President Roh Moo-hyun.  Some speculate that despite Mr. Lee’s popularity, the GNP will choose Ms. Park over Ms. Lee as its presidential candidate, because Ms. Park is the party leader and daughter of former Korean President Park Chung-hee, making her a sentimental choice for president within her party.  They point out that the GNP lost the presidency in 2002 to the Uri Party because it chose Mr. Lee Hoi-chang as its presidential candidate, even after Mr. Lee lost the presidency to Kim Dae-jung in 1997.  This implies that the ruling Uri Party or the DP could capitalize on a Lee-Park schism in the GNP to win the presidency.
 
The GNP might choose Ms. Park as its presidential nominee over Lee Myung-bak, even though Mr. Lee handily beats Ms. Park in opinion polls.  Who the GNP nominates as its standard bearer largely depends on how the GNP decides to choose its presidential candidate–an internal party primary system favors Ms. Park, or an open primary system favors Mr. Lee.  Both are strong presidential candidates, and with the third-strongest candidate, Mr. Goh, departing the race, their statuses solidify as presidential front runners.  Other potential candidates, including former Unification Minister Chang Dong-young and Mr. Kim Geun-tae of the Uri Party, or former Seoul National University President Chung Un-chan, do not have the stature or momentum going into the presidential election to seriously challenge either Mr. Lee or Ms. Park.  It is also unlikely that Mr. Lee would run as an independent or as the  presidential nominee of another political party in the event that the GNP chooses Ms. Park as its nominee.  Moreover, the GNP has won the last five elections and clearly has the momentum going into this year’s presidential race.  Unless a dark horse candidate comes up with a wildly popular solution to the Korean public’s biggest concerns–housing and jobs–Goh’s departure makes it even more evident that either Lee Myung-bak or Park Geun-hye will be Korea’s next president.  We’ll find out in December.

A resolution on its way to resolution

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to all.  Perhaps the gift I could have received on this holiday was the opportunity to spend time with my son and read a good book.  Dear Reader, don’t think for one minute that I’m not busy, because I am very busy with our impending move back to the United States.  However, I’m happy to report that I’ve read more books in 2007 than I did during all of 2006.  In 2006, I managed to finish one novel, "Eragon."  Today I finished my second book of the year.  The first was "America (The Book)," a satirical masterpiece by Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart.  The second was "Chasing Daylight," a book by Eugene O’Kelly, former Chief Executive Officer of KPMG, the international accounting firm.  "Chasing Daylight" is O’Kelly’s memoir.  He wrote it after he was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and given just three-to-six months to live.  The memoir is touching, thoughtful, and a provocative guidebook on dying written to appeal to "Type A," business types.  The book carries a strong, yet simple message–slow down and enjoy the Perfect Moments in life.  In layman’s terms, stop and smell the roses.  You don’t know what you’re missing.

 
I had started reading both books last year, and this year I set out to finish them.  Instead of reading a business magazine as I usually do to fill time gaps, I decided to take time out of my busy schedule to read something more meaningful.  While the value of "America (The Book)" is debatable–it’s valuable to those who are political junkies like me who savor satire–"Chasing Daylight" was definitely a worthwhile read.  It was short, as was the time leading up to Mr. O’Kelly’s death; short enough to read in one sitting or one plane right.  It’s the perfect book for the busy business executive who needs to be reminded to take time to enjoy life.
 
So what will I read now, other than the Bible?  (I didn’t include Bible reading in my list, because that is an ongoing endeavor that never ends.)  Well, I’m planning to tackle "The Honorary Consul," by Graham Greene, a classic suspense novel set in provincial Argentina and Paraguay.  It will be a good read.  At 281 pages, it should be an easy read to devour on a plane ride–if I make the time and effort to read it.

Featured Blog: The Nunchuks and Baby Sam

This month’s featured blogs selection features an outstanding double header. 
First up, the Nunchuks.  The Nunchuks (http://web.mac.com/tupelocat/iWeb/The%20Nunchuks/Main.html) is an awesome new hip hop honky-tonk death metal music group featuring three of my favorite colleagues, Wayne, David, and Crackleflame! (name changed to protect the innocent, exclamation point included in name).  These guys are absolutely HOT, I mean completely en fuego (figuratively speaking).  I must say nice things about them, because they will play at our going-away party next Saturday.  (Wait, should people really be having a party because we’re leaving?)  I will play percussion (the egg shaker) and will sing one song the Nunchuks said they would practice for me (thanks guys).  It will be the nicest gig anyone has done for us since we conned a good friend of ours into having her band, Folk Voice Band, play beautiful folk music in our backyard (twice).  The Nunchuks’ music is a bit more honky tonk than hip hop or death metal, but it is fabulous.  Their web site is even more impressive.  Their death metal mystique belies a group of fine gentlemen with a quirky sense of humor who just like to have fun and act silly in front of an audience.  I’m privileged to be counted as one of those dudes who get credit as a guest percussionist and as backup singer on an album jacket.  If you like the Nunchuks, be sure to ask them about buying some schwag.
Also featured this month is Crackleflame’s son, Baby Sam, who is a maestro in his own right.  Baby Sam (http://babysamwebstermain.blogspot.com/) rocks.  I keep encouraging his dad, Crackleflame, to sign him up as the Nunchuks’ band manager, but he seems to think that Baby Sam may be a bit young to manage such a HOT, edgy band.  I’m not sure why.  Based on Baby Sam’s sensible reaction to a diverse selection of musical tastes, I think he is fully ready to immerse himself in the world of music brought to life by the Nunchuks.  As long as his mom and dad makes sure he’s fed and diapered, why not?  It could be that the Nunchuks can’t afford to pay Baby Sam the salary he deserves and would have to seel an awful lot of schwag to meet his contract demands.  Baby Sam could walk at any time.
So there you have it.  This may be the first time that the Crackleflame connection between Baby Sam and the Nunchuks has been uncovered and surreptiously posted on the Web.  You read it here first!