East Asia Affairs

Why would you subject yourself to the rigors of a never ending election campaign to become the President of a nation?  Some do it for money, some do it for power, but there is a few rare gems that do it to make a difference, to make the country better than it is, to stand for what is right and not what is necessarily popular.

Unfortunately these gems rarely become President, the saying, “nice guys finish last”, reins true in this situation, except in Korea.  Roh Moo Hyun a former human rights lawyer with six months as a Minister of Fisheries is the President thanks to the super human efforts of the 386 generation and OhMyNews itself.

Roh Moo Hyun was a genuine ‘nice guy’, he was honest, stood up for what was right and did not buy or coerce respect and admiration from the people, he earned it and the people loved him.  People were tired of veteran politicians being splashed on the front page being prosecuted for bribery or embezzlement.  The 386, believed that many if not all seasoned politicians were corrupt in some way or form, so they went looking for a relative newcomer to career politics, they found Roh Moo Hyun.

I follow politics on and off since I was a teenager, I have seen Prime Ministers with 20 to 30 years experience drop the ball on the economy and reign a recession on their country (Paul Keating and the “recession we had to have”), I have seen them accidentally start wars because they did not see the tell tale signs of friction between their neighbours, I have seen them make serious amateur political blunders, these politicians have decades of experience.  But they refused to acknowledge his shortcomings.     

The main reason for the Roh Administration’s lack-luster performance is because of Roh’s aides.  The Administration is treading water, desperately trying to keep their heads out of water, and to get ahead, they are cutting corners and taking shortcuts.  If the media is overly critical of the Administration they should take the time and listen to those criticisms and look into themselves and see if their criticisms are just and make genuine steps to rectify their flaws.  Instead they release new media laws that punishes media outlets for criticising the Administration.

More shortcuts can be seen with relations with their North Korean brethren.  Roh Moo Hyun and his administration vowed that they would continue the previous administration’s “Sunshine Policy” at all costs.  When I first heard that statement I felt a shiver running up and down my spine and I was right to have that feeling.  The Roh and Kim Administrations have been and still are very keen on playing down the conflicts that they have had during their time, but in doing that they have played down the sacrifice the South Korean military personnel have made, including the six, dead South Korean Naval officers in 2002.

The DPRK has abducted many Japanese and South Korean citizens in the last 50 years.  In 2004, The Korea Times reported:

“When Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi returned from North Korea on Saturday with five family members of abducted Japanese nationals, 52-year-old Choi Sung-young was moved to tears.

These were not the tears of joy shared by the Japanese abductees and their children as they were reunited in Tokyo.

Choi, a South Korean whose father was abducted by a North Korean patrol boat in 1967 while fishing on the West Sea, was crying at the lack of action by his own government.

``When I saw the five Japanese return to their country, I felt a sense of shame due to our government’s lack of concern on this matter,’’ Choi, leader of a group of family members seeking the repatriation of their abducted relatives, told The Korea Times.

``The Seoul government is remiss in its duties. I really hope it takes some active measures to bring back South Koreans being detained in the North,’’ Choi said.

According to the Unification Ministry, 486 South Koreans, including more than 400 fishermen, are still living somewhere in the North after being kidnapped by North Korean agents or patrol boats since the end of the Korean War.

There also are more than 500 South Korean prisoners of war detained in the North, the ministry said on its Web site Monday. The POW’s identities and whereabouts are not known.

Choi said the first thing the Roh Moo-Hyun government has to do is put the abductee issue on the agenda for ``any kind of inter-Korean talks,’’ such as the top military officers’ meeting held on Wednesday at North Korea’s resort mountain of Kumgang.”

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is now Sept, 2005 and in an effort to keep the Sunshine Policy alive has played down or downright refused to bring up the issue with the DPRK.  While the Japanese Koizumi Government has made efforts to repatriate their abducted citizens, Roh and Kim have done nothing.  If you’re abducted by any other nation you can rest assured that your government will come to your rescue, unless the abductor is the DPRK, then you are on your own and your family can forget about ever seeing you alive again. 

A former human rights lawyer turning his back on almost a thousand of his own citizens, when they are in the hands of one of the most brutal humans violators in the world?  I do not believe President Roh would willingly turn his back on them, it is not in his nature, I believe his inexperienced aides have strongly advised him not to raise the issue with the DPRK to uphold their unachievable promise of keeping the Sunshine Policy alive.  

The problem with the aides is that they are former activists playing political operatives, they have an idea of how South Korea’s political system should work but is clueless about how it actually works.  They came into the Blue House expecting that their main man Roh is President and that that alone was enough to push their agenda through Congress.  Instead little or no reformist policies have gone through congress, his approval rating has plummeted to its lowest levels, the 386 generation that elected him see him as a weak leader.

Roh Moo Hyun should have foreseen that he was inexperienced to hold the office of the Presidency and should have appointed seasoned political advisors and veteran political operatives to ensure that the Roh Moo Hyun reforms got through Congress.  Instead he appoints activists, activists he probably meet during those world famous South Korean “peaceful” riots, “Hey, my name is Roh Moo Hyun, I’m really impressed how you brutally attacked that riot police officer with that steel pipe just then, I’m running for President, would you like to be one of my aides?”

There is a saying in politics, “There are two things the voters don’t want to see, how sausages and laws are made”.  The way they weal and deal to get these laws past Congress is comparable to odd pieces of animal being shredded and mashed into sausages, it makes your stomach turn and is hard to watch.  The Roh Administration obviously do not know how to do their job, their self-righteous behaviour makes them believe that they not need to weal and deal and that if the GNP had half a brain and a conscience they would be on their side.  This is incredibility amusing since politicians have a quarter of a brain and no conscience at all.

Roh Moo Hyun may have come into office with a grand vision for South Korea based on equality and peace but his Administration has shattered his grand vision with unprofessional, three stooges like performances, they are horribly unqualified for their positions to have the ear of the President.  Roh Moo Hyun wanted to leave office with the whole nation admiring him decades if not centuries after he dies like Abraham Lincoln did in the United States (a man Roh greatly admires), instead he will go down in the history books as a forgotten President who promised so much and contributed nothing.  School children and academics will have trouble remembering his name.  That is a horrible fate for such a great man.

I hate to say this to a ‘could have been’ great President, but, you have to go Mr Roh.