Cardinal Stephen Kim is a pretty good guy, and I usually respect what he has to say. However, I can’t get behind his latest call for politicians to “confess their wrongdoings to the people.” It’s not that what he’s saying isn’t right - it is, and you have to respect the man’s moral clarity. It’s just that I’m getting rather sick of hearing confessionals - for the last week, we’ve had party heads and former party heads trading early morning press conferences in which they issued mea culpas and quasi-mea culpas for ill-begotten campaign contributions. I’m tired of this crap. And frankly, I’ve come to accept the fact that financial irregularities are simply an occupational hazard of Korean politics. This is not to say that I think this is a good thing - clearly, it’s something that needs reform. But who the hell’s going to do it? I mean, the day before yesterday, you have GNP head Choe Byeong-nyeol - an absolute clown - calling for a special investigation into President Roh’s slush funds. Now, Choe did make a point - I’m sure Samsung, LG, et. al. were pumping money into Roh’s camp, too. But two days before, former GNP head and presidential candidate Lee Hoi-chang goes out and says, yeah, my party accepted and spent more illegal campaign contributions than the gross national product of many Third World countries, so why the fuck is Choe making dirty campaign money an issue? Perhaps I’m just disappointed - I’d like to believe that there’s still honor among thieves, but apparently no such thing exists within Seoul’s corridors of power. And assuming we can’t put them all in jail, what would be the point in sending any of them to jail, only so they can be replaced by another swindler?
Anyway, the last thing I want to hear this Christmas is another goddamn confession. It’s time to move on to something important.
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Agree with Marmot on GNP/Choe. Check out this whacked take on events:
PYONGYANG, DECEMBER 19 (KCNA) — WITH THE TRUTH BEHIND ITS
ILLEGAL PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION FUNDS DISCLOSED, THE GRAND
NATIONAL PARTY OF SOUTH KOREA, STYLING ITSELF NO. 1 PARTY, IS
TIGHT-CORNERED.
THE GNP INSISTED THAT IT DID NOT RECEIVE EVEN A PENNY FROM
BUSINESS GROUPS. BUT THE AMOUNT OF ITS ILLICIT MONEY REACHED 60
BILLION WON, COUNTING ONLY THAT DISCLOSED IN THE COURSE OF THE
PROSECUTION’S INVESTIGATION.
IN THIS REGARD RODONG SINMUN TODAY IN A SIGNED COMMENTARY
SAYS:
THE ALARMING FINANCIAL SCAM OF THE GNP WAS AIMED TO SEIZE
POWER IN A BID TO EXECUTE THE U.S. POLICY OF DOMINATION OVER
SOUTH KOREA ON THE SPOT.
THIS PARTY, HOWEVER, FAILED IN THE LAST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
AND ITS FORMER PRESIDENT RI HOE CHANG WAS FORCED TO QUIT THE
POLITICAL ARENA. THIS WAS AN INEVITABLE RESULT OF THE ACTS OF
TREACHERY COMMITTED BY THE PARTY, ESTRANGED FROM THE PEOPLE.
AT A TIME WHEN SOUTH KOREA WAS HARD HIT BY A SUDDEN TYPHOON,
LEAVING MORE THAN 130 PEOPLE DEAD OR WOUNDED AND MANY PEOPLE
HOMELESS, CHOE PYONG RYOL, REPRESENTATIVE OF THE GNP, WENT TO
THE U.S. UTTERLY INDIFFERENT TO THIS DISASTER. THERE HE PROMISED
HIS AMERICAN MASTER TO WORK HARD FOR SOUTH KOREA’S DISPATCH OF
COMBAT TROOPS TO IRAQ AS REQUESTED BY THE U.S. AND CRIED OUT FOR
IMPOSING SANCTIONS UPON THE NORTH AND PRESSURIZING IT
IRRESPECTIVE OF THE SIX-WAY TALKS. IT IS TRAGEDY AND DISGRACE THAT
THERE EXISTS IN SOUTH KOREA THE GNP REPRESENTED BY CHOE PYONG
RYOL WHO HAS WORKED HARD TO PLEASE HIS AMERICAN MASTER IN
QUEST OF POWER IN DISREGARD OF THE FATE OF THE PEOPLE IN SOUTH
KOREA AND COMPATRIOTS IN THE NORTH.
THE GNP HAS ALWAYS PLACED THE OUTSIDE FORCES ABOVE THE
NATION AND UNHESITATINGLY BETRAYED THE SOVEREIGNTY AND DIGNITY
OF THE KOREAN NATION TO MEET THE DEMAND AND INTERESTS OF THE
OUTSIDE FORCES. SUCH TRAITOROUS NATURE OF THE GNP CAN NEVER
CHANGE AS LONG AS IT STAYS.
THE POISONOUS HERB SHOULD BE ROOTED OUT.
THE SOUTH KOREAN PEOPLE SHOULD LIQUIDATE THE GNP, THE GROUP
OF SYCOPHANTIC TRAITORS. -0-
And you know what, Slim? More and more, I’m starting to agree with the Norks on this one (even if I question their reasoning) - the GNP needs to go. A truly sorry lot they are, and right now - despite being the majority party in the NA - they’re just a bane on the nation. Simply being pro-American is not enough for me; heck, you can be as anti-American as you like, as long as you take the affairs of this country seriously. Now, you know I don’t particularly like Noh’s policy stances, and I sure as hell don’t like some of the people around him, but at least they take their jobs seriously and they generally mean well. And that’s more than I can say for Choe Byeong-nyeong and his cliche.