Today’s big news story from South Korea - the Nohmeister offers to “subject [himself] to the public’s judgment.” According to the Korea Times:
President Roh Moo-hyun yesterday said he will ask the nation whether or not it can trust him as head of state.
“I will subject myself to the public’s judgment upon the completion of investigations into allegations about Choi Do-sul,” the 57-year-old progressive president said in a news conference at Chong Wa Dae. Roh’s popularity has been battered by a series of scandals since taking office in February.
Choi, Roh’s friend of more than 20 years and the manager of his campaign funds, is suspected of receiving 1 billion won from SK Group just after the election in December last year. The money was given to Choi in congratulations for Roh’s unexpected victory, prosecutors allege.
“I cannot avoid the responsibility for the act of my former secretary. I will put this issue to the people before the upcoming general elections,” Roh said during the emergency news conference.
Roh’s bombshell statement has perplexed political observers as it is the first time an incumbent head of state has sought a public vote of confidence. Former President Roh Tae-woo promised to hold a mid-term confidence vote during his campaign but failed to translate the pledge into action.
This announcement, boys and girls, is a just what the KT says it is - a bombshell. The President’s approval rating currently hovers somewhere in the (low) teens, and if, and I do mean IF, Noh intends to translate his comments into a referendum with any meaning at all, he stands a decent shot of loosing his job. And frankly, having watched the Prez rather closely since his inauguration, it wouldn’t shock me at all if loosing his job is really what Noh wants. Clearly, he isn’t enjoying his time at the pinnacle of power - he’s made a number of statements lamenting his position, and this latest crisis may have finally convinced the Prez to say, “You can take this job and shove it.” Strangely enough, as perhaps the English-speaking blogosphere’s biggest critic of Comrade Noh, I’ve actually come to start liking the guy. No, that wouldn’t stop me from casting a vote of no-confidence (if I had the right to vote in the ROK, which I don’t), but I do realize that the guy probably deserves better than the shit he’s been forced to take since assuming office - frankly, much of the crap the GNP and their media friends have been throwing at Noh is pure, unadulterated bullshit, and it has turned off even a card carrying member of the evil right-wing conspiracy like myself. And what I find most disappointing about it all is that by doing so, they detract from all the legitimate complaints they could (and to some extent, have) been making about the guy.
Still, Noh should never have been elected president - he was voted in at a time when anti-American feelings were running so high that even Lee Hoi-ch’ang - LEE HOI-CHANG! - was forced to make concessions to the candlelight crowd during his campaign. And even then he just squeaked it out, in an election that is perhaps most notable for having the lowest voter turnout since the Republic was proclaimed in 1948. Since the election, however, reality has hit back with a vengeance, and Noh’s administrative incompetence and political liabilities have burdened the nation at a time when it can least afford it. Yes, he’s a man of principle, but so is Jimmy Carter, and I wouldn’t vote for him to sit on my local school board, let alone the highest office in the land. Yet this much must be said - it was not so long ago that it was impossible to even imagine a sitting South Korean president putting himself at the mercy of the electorate like this. You can call Noh a lot of things, but “dictator” is not one of them.
Anyway, there’s a ton of media flowing in on this - in English and Korean - so don’t expect this to be my last post on this issue.
UPDATE: Here’s more English-language press on this, from the Chosun Ilbo:
About the means of going about a confidence measure, he said that he had “given thought to a national vote,” but that the constitution limits such referendums to issues of security, so he “doesn’t know if that would be appropriate.” Controversy can be expected in the coming months, since Roh went on to say that he will put the issue of how to go about it to public discussion.
Article 72 of the constitution limits national referendums to set areas. “The president may submit important policies relating to diplomacy, national defense, unification and other matters relating to the national destiny to a national referendum if he deems it necessary.”
Grand National Party Chairman Choe Byung-yul is saying that the holding of a confidence measure “is now established fact,” and that “as long as the president has told the people of his decision, we would hope he deals with the matter in a swift and most open and aboveboard manner.”
Choe also said that the party’s dominant internal view is that under the country’s current legal framework, “a national referendum would be the only way,” and that “we think there should be no legal problem.”
Figures Choe Byung-yul and Co. have no problem with this.
8 Comments
I may be wrong, but I saw & heard a coupla hours ago on TV “??◈???”, which is 10 billion won…
How does Noh plan on acting on his desire to relinquish his position?
The wife says that Noh is proposing having the constitution amended to allow for a recall, at which time, the South Korean populace would vote to recall.
What is required in South Korea to amend the constitution?
I honestly believe the South Koreans will elect someone worse than Noh if given the opportunity.
The South Korean voting populace rejected Lee Hoi-ch’ang twice, this last time voting against Lee and for Noh on the anti-U.S. platform that Noh promised to fulfill (yet upon ascension to the highest position of the land, realized that voicing anti-U.S. sentiment and implementing an anti-U.S. strategy were two differing ideas).
All that would be required for a prospective candidate would be to voice a more shrill version of anti-U.S. and they would be guaranteed a victory, for it can easily be concluded, if I possessed the limited intelligence of a South Korean university student, that Noh??р꽓s failure as President was due to the presence and existence of the U.S.
The wife says that Lee Hoi-ch’ang has left the country and has no plans on returning. Is there another leader on the horizon that could fill his shoes?
Clearly, that should have read “as one of the English-speaking blogosphere’s biggest critics of Comrade Noh,” although I still say a get dips on the top spot with blogging seniority points
Dude - Losing, not loosing. Millions of people make this mistake on the Net - don’t be one of them. Otherwise, great stuff.
Thanks for the spell check - hard to believe I’m an English teacher.
Mr. Sefton - the Nohmeister went in front of reporters today and mentioned the possibility of constitutional changes that would allow for a referendum, but mark my words - if that’s the path that Noh chooses to follow, be prepared for some very ugly fighting over how and when.
Jeez, this looks like it’s going to be a mess. And I’m sure you heard that PM “2ID” Goh, the cabinet, and the Blue House advisors all offered their resignations. Noh refused to accept them, but needless to day, it was a bit of a jolt.
Lee Hoi-ch’ang, to the best of my knowledge, is out for good. That being said, politicians have a strange habit of reappearing at the most unlikely moments. Yeah, he lost twice, but Kim Dae-jung also took his fair share of elections losses before reaching the Blue House. But there are huge differences between Lee and Kim, so I don’t see Lee making a political comeback, and from what I understand, he’s not particularly popular even within the GNP. Lee’s in the States right now; he’s planning to visit Korea again later this month, but then it’s back to Stanford. As far as people within the GNP that can take his place are concerned, well, Choe Byung-yul is the party head, but despite being much more of a forceful guy than Lee, I’m not quite sure if he’s electible (and frankly, I wouldn’t want the guy sitting in the Blue House even if he could get the votes). The GNP is hurting for leadership, especially that of the forward thinking variety.
Now, as far as the South Koreans electing someone worse than Noh is concerned, I guess it’s a possibility, but not a likely one. Yes, Noh has been criticized by the “progressive” crowd for not carrying through with his campaign promises, particularly those connected with forming a “more equal relationship with the US.” But at the same time, he’s been absolutely savaged by the GNP, the Chosun Ilbo and Friends for a lot of things, including his alleged mishandling of US-ROK relations AND sucking up to the North. Roh was elected on an anti-American platform, but that was at a time when emotions were running extremely high - for a lot of people, reality has set itself back in. College kids are loud, but they aren’t the most powerful political force in the nation, and frankly, they aren’t even well liked outside of certain circles. Yes, the Hanchongnyon kids will scream that Roh failed because of Bush, but I don’t think that will make up for all those who want to kill Noh (and his predecessor) for putting the US-ROK alliance in the tank. But even assuming the a referredum goes through, there’s a lot of time left for public opinion to solidify one way or the other. I guess we’re just going to have to sit back and watch.
I had to follow up on your comment NMH rejecting the resignations tendered by his cabinet and presidential secretaries over an aide’s link to a political funding scandal (http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WO.....index.html).
Less than one year into the job and the substance of his complaints have been inferred by me that he has never wanted the job, or at least upon election, realized that he was not capable of fulfilling the obligations of the role.
(I figured he was politically ???밺ead??? after his appearance at the white house???.I thought I was looking at South Korea??р꽓s first female president)
Despite a partial belief that voters should have to live with the decisions made, I do not believe that South Korea can allow and will not allow NMH to remain as President for the next four years.
In the least, NMH is humiliating South Korea on the international stage, which could be easily compensated for if his domestic policies were kick-ass, which they are not.
My point about electing someone worse (now that NMH has no party, it cannot even fall to a vice-president can it?) is that the South Koreans will be angry at NMH??р꽓s incompetence, but will not hold NMH accountable for his own failure, and I think that the South Korean populace will support the most vocal anti-U.S. candidate.
(based on a similar sentiment made by Israeli psychoanalyst Zvi Rex, who stated ???밫he Germans will never forgive the Jews for Auschwitz. They know of their guilt, but don??р꽓t want to be reminded of it.???)
I’m a bit unclear on the point of all this. My questions are:
1. Is this a mechanism provided for under SK law?
2. What happens if he loses?
So far, it seems like a large, government-funded opinion poll. Sounds pretty masturbatory to me.
“Thanks for the spell check - hard to believe I’m an English teacher”
Please check your About Me page too. You have the phrase “formenting revolts”. There is no such word as “formenting”. Maybe you wanted to write “fomenting” :-)?
I am not an English teacher but I could spot this kind of mistake a parsec away.
PING:
TITLE: Korea Briefing: 2003-10-14
BLOG NAME: Winds of Change.NET
OCT 14/03 TOPICS INCL: Must-read article; Asian values; Total Recall in SK too?; Wider regional role for USFK; NK Developments; Nukes updates; What to do about NK?; Lifestyles of the Rich and Stalinist; ROK forces to Iraq?; Food aid to NK; NK’s economy…