VOA常速英语2007年-Independent Candidate Shakes Up South Korea's P

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
07 November 2007

All bets are off now in South Korea's presidential race. With just a little more than a month to go before the vote, a new independent candidate may draw support away from the former Seoul Mayor who, until now, appeared certain to win. VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul.

Ending weeks of expectation, 72-year-old Lee Hoi-chang announced Wednesday he is entering the race for South Korean president.

Lee has made two bids for the job before. He has also served as a South Korean Supreme¹ Court justice, and as chairman of South Korea's conservative Grand National Party, or GNP.

Until now, most South Koreans had taken for granted that the GNP's official candidate, former Seoul Mayor Lee Myoung-bak, would cruise to an easy victory in the presidential vote, scheduled for December 19.

In public opinion polls, the former mayor has emerged several times as popular as his main rival.

But now, Lee Hoi-chang's split from the GNP to pursue an independent candidacy is expected to siphon away a significant portion of Lee Myoung-bak's support.

Lee the independent is widely seen as more conservative than his official GNP rival. He is especially critical of incumbent² President Roh Moo-hyun's policy of engagement with North Korea, which has seen billions of dollars in aid funneled³ to the North with few or no strings⁴ attached.

Lee Hoi-Chang said Wednesday that North Korea had become a nuclear weapons nation as the result of unprincipled South Korean policies towards the North. He promised to strengthen the South Korea-U.S. alliance, which he describes as "on the road to ruin" (seriously damaged).

Lee Hoi-chang's message is a more strident version of what other conservatives have been saying: that South Korea should demand more reciprocity from Pyongyang in return for aid and cooperation.

Kim Jin-hah, a political scientist at South Korea's Keimyoung University, says Lee Hoi-chang's bid for the presidency⁵ could end up hurting conservatives in general.

Kim says by diluting⁶ the conservative vote, Lee may actually be improving the chances of the main progressive candidate, Chung Dong-young.

Chung, a former Unification Minister in President Roh's administration, has promised an expansion of the North Korea engagement policy.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

3 funneled   

漏斗状的

参考例句：

• The crowd funneled through the hall. 群众从走廊中鱼贯而过。
• The large crowd funneled out of the gates after the football match. 足球赛后大群人从各个门中涌出。

4 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

5 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

6 diluting   

稀释，冲淡( dilute的现在分词 )； 削弱，使降低效果

参考例句：

• A companion would have been a distraction, diluting the pathos of the moment. 要是有一个伴侣在旁就会分散我的注意，冲淡此时此刻的哀婉之情。
• Diluting agent has certain transparency for ink multi-color overprint. 冲淡剂具有必定的透明量，适分油不朱的众色叠印。