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ANALYSIS
Roh:
New president for a new Korea
By Jaewoo Choo
SEOUL - Last week's presidential election in
South Korea was remarkable on many fronts, not least the
extent to which it reflected Koreans' deep desire for a
shift away from the regionalism, cronyism and nepotism
of the past and toward a more open, truly democratic
society.
After a heated 23-day campaign by seven
candidates, Roh Moo-hyun won the election by a margin of
2.3 percentage points over his archrival Lee Hoi-chang
of the opposition Grand National Party. During the
campaign, Jang Se-dong, a former director of the Korean
Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) in the early 1980s
when he was allegedly in charge of the infamous Gwangju
massacre, pulled out of the race for personal reasons.
Last Wednesday, just two hours before the final campaign
rally, one of the top supporters in Roh's camp, Jung
Mong-joon, abruptly announced that he was withdrawing
his backing. Once a leading candidate until he struck a
deal with Roh that enabled the two candidates to merge
their popularity, Jung received much respect for his
democratic values, putting him in a good position for
the next presidency. Nonetheless, his decision failed to
sway many votes in Lee's favor. Of Jung's supporters, a
mere 9 percent shifted in favor of Lee, statistics
revealed after the election.
This election was
significant in many respects. It was the first time that
a candidate in his 50s was elected to the highest
national post. Age has been a matter of great importance
in South Korean politics, and in Korean society in
general, as both the social and the political culture
still deeply cherish Confucian values, in which younger
people are often regarded to be disrespectful if they
challenge their elders. The election proved that Koreans
have matured politically.
Unlike in the past,
regionalism was not much of a deciding factor in the
electorate's choice this time. Admittedly, Roh's support
in the southwestern provinces and cities where his
Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) is rooted amounted to
a landslide. However, Roh himself is not from that
region. Many from the region confessed after the
election that their support for him was not for the
party's sake but was due to his integrity, value and
vision. Many, in fact, claimed they were had been
disappointed by the MDP under Kim Dae-jung, whom they
supported for many years only to see his two sons put in
jail for bribery and other crimes.
Thus, to a
certain extent, this election substantially undermined
the regionalism that has dominated South Korean
elections for the past half-century. As late as 1998,
regionalism was the cause of Roh's failure in his bid
for the mayoral post in Busan, his home town. He failed
in three elections in his home court for representing
the "wrong" party in the "wrong" place. As a result, he
was nicknamed "Babo" (foolish) by people in his home
town. In the presidential election, however, support for
Roh in the southeastern provinces and cities, long
regarded as the GNP's back yard, reached almost 30
percent, a big blow to Lee, who expected his
southeastern support to match Roh's in the southwest, or
95 percent. In the 1997 election, more than 90 percent
of southeastern voters supported Lee against Kim
Dae-jung. Last week's results indicate that South
Koreans have high hopes for Roh as a legitimate
politician who can finally bring the two regions into
harmony.
Roh's success has brought new hope for
democratic values. Equality and freedom will be much
more respected in the practice of politics specifically,
and in the daily life of Korean society in general, it
is believed. Cronyism and nepotism will gradually lose
ground. Roh's win has laid a solid foundation for the
backbone of democracy and market economy to bud in
Korean society. He has personally brought such hope to
the people and promised to create such a society: those
with ability will be able to succeed. Foreign analysts
have observed that Roh's own personal struggles to
compete in a highly stratified society in which birth
and education are prerequisites for success will inspire
other Koreans.
In this election too, even more
so than in much more advanced democratic nations, the
power of the Internet has written a new chapter in the
textbooks of political-science theory. In no other
election in the world, including the United States, has
cyber politics played such a role. This will have
important implications for those states where democracy
is still budding and information technology is under
development.
First, states where political and
economic scandals and corruption arise from cronyism and
nepotism will be left with no choice but to reform.
Otherwise, they will be under scrupulous scrutiny by the
cyber world. What makes the Internet such an effective
tool for judging political behavior is not merely its
easy access and abundant sources displayed on people's
personal monitors. It is the power of anonymity. Unless
you bring harm to someone's honor or integrity, you can
upload information anonymously. In this respect, anyone
is free to make contributions to the cause of revealing
the truth.
While there is much unsubstantiated
rumor available on Internet, anonymity also ensures that
reliable information is widely read. Anyone with such
information is certainly willing to share it for the
cause of not merely rooting for his or her favorite
candidate, but for upholding democratic values -
fairness, openness and truthfulness. Cyber politics in
elections has become an open forum where the integrity
of candidates is scrutinized by objective as well as
subjective sources. The down side is that the abundance
of information can bring confusion to some, especially
those who do not understand much about politics and lack
judgment. Such people can easily be exploited by the
headlines on their computer screen. However, such
confusion and exploitation can be cleared up through
online debates and easy access to advice and help from
other Internet users, the so-called "netizens".
Second, cyber politics has become the main tool
for election campaigning. The Internet is a source of
information easily accessible 24 hours a day. Nothing
can be hidden on Internet. Any kind of breaking news or
information is always available. In addition, it is a
powerful means of communication. A huge rally can be
arranged with great efficiency, as proved during the
course of Korean affairs this year. The so-called "Red
Devils" during the World Cup soccer championships were
able to congregate in front of Seoul City Hall and other
places to cheer and watch the national team's matches.
Times and places were advertised through the Internet.
Etiquette and manners such as cleaning up litter after
the match were emphasized. Furthermore, all the
candlelight vigils during the past month or so in Seoul
to mourn the death of two junior-high-school students
and to protest the acquittal by a US military court of
the US servicemen involved were arranged through
Internet. Last, especially in Roh's case, campaign
rallies and activities were organized on online.
Third, Roh is the first president-elect with a
profession (although his rival Lee was also a
professional). Prior to his service as a legislator
during the late 1980s and early '90s and his
governmental post as maritime and fisheries minister
during the early years of Kim government, he was a judge
and a lawyer. Although Roh did not attend a
higher-education institute, he practiced law for living.
His professional background will have many implications
for the future of South Korean politics. His win has
opened a new era for technocrats. Unlike in the past
when the eligibility of candidates for public offices
was based on their loyalty, service and dedication to
their respective political party, those with expertise
and specialties will be much more visible in upcoming
elections, including the general election in 2004. It is
already speculated that the South Korean legislature
will be filled with many more lawyers, consultants, and
intellectuals after 2004.
For these reasons, Roh
may present an impression of being bold, assertive and,
to a certain extent, radical in his pursuit of policy,
especially foreign policy, where his experience is the
most lacking. No previous South Korean president has had
Roh's intellectual abilities, as evidenced by his legal
background. That is probably why there is great
speculation that there will be a sweeping review of
South Korea's security and diplomatic relations by the
Roh government, including the Status of Forces Agreement
(SOFA), the bilateral agreement with the United States
that establishes the legal rights and responsibilities
of US troops in Korea. SOFA will undergo heavy scrutiny,
and not mere cosmetic surgery, by a lawyer president.
Without substantial changes, many Koreans believe that
unfair treatment by the US military, as reflected by the
case of the schoolgirls' deaths, will continue.
To Koreans, therefore, Roh's ability to
implement seemingly bold and assertive policy was not a
matter of concern. What really appealed to those who
have longed for change in Korea's political culture were
his vision and principles. These Koreans are simply fed
up with regionalism, cronyism and nepotism. They want a
new Korea where common sense, democratic principles, and
rule of law will prevail and perpetuate in both domestic
and foreign life. Whether Roh is capable of fulfilling
this desire remains to be seen.
(©2002
Asia Times
Online Co, Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact
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