Unfit for an Inter-Korean Summit

Unfit for an Inter-Korean Summit

President Roh Moo-hyun has just eight months left in office after having served as the country’s leader for four years and four months. Under normal circumstances, it’s about time for him to display an image of a mature head of state. But the day before yesterday, the public had to hear, once again, words that should not be uttered by a president.
In an interview with The Hankyoreh daily, the president carried on about “democratic forces,” “forces representing the remnants of military dictatorship,” “forces of peace and reform,” and “ruling power.” In the eyes of this president, the public is either part of this force or that force. He keeps saying “tactics” and “strategy.” In answering one single question on unifying the progressive political camps, he used the word “strategy” six times. Tactics and strategy should be used for diplomacy, national defense, or economic development. But even after he’s sat in the top office for four years and four months, he still plays tactics and strategy against people who don’t support him.
People adjust to their status. Even a person who used to force a wedge between different parties changes from the boss of a faction into the leader of an entire nation once he rises to the presidency. The office of presidency has the power to mature its holder. But not in President Roh’s case. He just can’t overcome the role of a factional boss. The president himself shed light on why this has happened.
In the interview, he cited as the virtues of a president “the skill of integration” and “honesty, sincerity, warmth.” Yet he does not possess them. That’s why Roh remains stuck in the role of a faction leader and why the public refers to him not as a national leader but as the representative of a minority faction like his support group “Nosamo” or the coterie trying to convince people that he really did nothing wrong. It’s sheer nonsense for someone like President Roh, who uses every opportunity to divide the country between one faction and another, to speak about integration.
It’s regrettable to have to mention this again, but a man jumped into the Han River after the president made humiliating comments about him on television. And not a single person from the presidential office offered a word of condolence to the family of that man. Is this warmth? Lawmaker Kim Geun-tae was one of the core members who, along with the president, founded the ruling party. Never mind personal emotions, it is beyond comprehension how the president can refer to Kim’s renunciation of his presidential bid as “foolish, self destructive and weak.” This is not the way people should behave toward each other.
Once again, the president commented on the election law, saying it was “hostile and unfair” toward politics and the election process. He said requiring the president to remain neutral and prohibiting him from campaign activities could be viewed as being unconstitutional. He said he would bring the issue to the Constitutional Court. The public knows that the president studied law. It also knows that he has no respect for laws and the Constitution. And that means he is unfit to be president, no matter how much he knows about one or the other.
The president called the last year’s proposal to form a coalition government with the Grand National Party a “failed strategy.” He added that people were unable to distinguish between forming a coalition and merging parties and said they should study more. Forming a coalition government requires a foundation. It is not the duty of the president to tell others to study after he himself caused so much turmoil by making unreasonable demands.
At a meeting of the Government Evaluation Forum, a pro-Roh group, earlier this month, the president said it was “horrible” to imagine an “irresponsible” party like the GNP taking power in December's election. And the National Election Commission found him guilty of breaking the election law. Yet on Thursday, he said his words were “symbolic.” A few days ago, the respected poet Ko Un said the president’s language does not befit a country’s leader. President Roh is in no position to talk about the virtues of a president’s words.
Roh called the Government Evaluation Forum a group set up “to protect Roh Moo-hyun.” But from whose attacks? The presidency rests on the shoulders of the public. If it abandons him, even 100 groups can’t protect him.

url: http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200706/200706150018.html