But the real winner may turn out to be new partner Kim Jong Pil.
Mr Kim Jong Pil will head a new Office of Co-ordination to manage inter-departmental affairs.
The opposition says Kim Jong-pil is not qualified to tackle the country's economic problems.
The speed of adjustment suggest that yields may have risen too quickly, says Anton Pil of J.
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At the moment, Kim Jong Pil is trying to work out a deal with Kim Dae Jung.
The Jongs in Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Pil, for example, are two distinct characters in Korean.
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In return, Kim Dae Jung would push for a "cabinet-style" government with a stronger prime minister -- Kim Jong Pil.
Thus, for Kim Jong Pil, who has absolutely no chance of winning on his own, the alliance is a master stroke.
Koreans have grown weary of the old-style politics dominated by the "three Kims" -- Young Sam, Dae Jung and Jong Pil.
As a sop, Kim offered to merge the two parties into one and hand the party leadership over to Kim Jong Pil.
If the election were held today, Lee would score 50% against 28% for Kim Dae Jung and 11% for Kim Jong Pil.
Both Lee and Kim Jong Pil call the Chungchung region of central South Korea home, a coincidence that could dilute the oppositionist's strength.
South Korean PM Kim Jong Pil (No. 35 last year) was crucial in getting President Kim Dae Jung, this year's co-No. 1, into office.
For Kim Jong Pil a continuing connection with Kim Dae Jung is a must if he is to achieve his goal of becoming president.
Voters in Mr Kim Jong Pil's stronghold in the Chungchong region, however, appear to believe that there is indeed a conspiracy and are rallying behind him.
The concession further angered Kim Jong Pil and his United Liberal Democrats, since they had been counting on the new system to maintain their party's position in the legislature.
Under this scenario, Kim would retire as a figurehead president for the rest of his term and real power would pass to a prime minister, presumably Kim Jong Pil.
Some of these groups, however, could align themselves to the party of Mr Kim's coalition partners, the United Liberals, who are led by the acting prime minister, Kim Jong Pil.
The main opposition party, the Grand National Party, has vowed to oppose Mr. Kim's choice of prime minister, Kim Jong-pil, who belongs to the president-elect's electoral allies, the United Liberal Democrats.
The provisions of the agreement stipulate that if Kim Dae Jung is elected president, he has to give the post of prime minister to a ULD member (widely assumed to be Kim Jong Pil).
On Nov. 3, South Korea saw the joining of forces by two opposition presidential candidates: Kim Dae Jung of the National Congress for New Politics and Kim Jong Pil of the United Liberal Democrats (ULD).
Kim Dae Jung, a liberal former democracy activist, was once a constant target of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, the national security apparatus that conservative Kim Jong Pil formed during military strongman Park Chung Hee's rule.
While the prime ministership is largely ceremonial, the pact also requires Kim Dae Jung to move toward the realization of Kim Jong Pil's pet project: a change from the current presidential system to a cabinet-styled parliamentary government.
The deal that the president-elect struck with Kim Jong Pil, the leader of the United Liberal Democrats, was to promise him the prime minister's job and endow the office with more clout than its current largely ceremonial role.
Courting the support of Kim Jong Pil, leader of the conservative United Liberal Democrats, Kim had promised to push for a constitutional amendment by the end of this year, replacing the existing powerful presidency with a parliamentary form of government.
"It's time to end the politics of the three Kims, " said Lee, referring to the ex-president, plus the incumbent president and Kim Jong Pil, three veteran politicians with the same surname who have dominated South Korean politics since the early 1960s.
In December, he must prevail at the polls over two political stalwarts -- veteran democracy activist Kim Dae Jung, who will be making his fourth bid for the presidency, and the United Liberal Democratic Party's Kim Jong Pil, popular with conservative voters.
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