#26: My predictions aren’t worth a rat’s ass, but obviously LMB will likely win. Roh’s gang of hangers-on will try to clutch to power at every twist and turn, short of moments prior to when LMB is officially inaugurated. It will be ironic if we end up witnessing the so-called “democratic fighters” of yore trying to scupper normal democratic processes as they are forced by popular vote to leave office in 2008. I live near the Constitutional Court Building and I expect to see as much nonsense there in the coming weeks as we did during GNP’s botched impeachment attempt. In other words, the will of the people will likely prevail. The (theoretical, I hope) danger, however, is the majority may break apart into competing factions and thereby allow the greatly disfavored UNDP win by a simple plurality. (Am I making myself clear?)

The alleged “progressives”, as you put it, are generally disliked more so than anything else. I hope more than a few of them end up in the docket for their own immorality.

Since Sunday, I’ve been getting the impression that many people have traded in cautious optimism that may come with a change of government to an apathy and disgust that is largely targeted at the progressives, but also felt in no small measure towards the conservatives.

The National Legislature’s behavior of recent days has been a bit of a national embarrassment. No matter how solid or flaky the allegations against Lee Myung-bak’s background may be, they have achieved in at least some small measure of success. But if anything, people are even more thoroughly disgusted with the ruling regime and more anxious for a genuine change in leadership.

At the same time, many voters worry their first choice among presidential candidates may end up being unduly hamstrung and voting for Lee Myung-bak quite possibly may be a backward step towards greater corruption. Consequently, many are mulling over the idea of switching their vote to former GNP head Lee Hoi-chang.

The obvious dilemma with that that option is should enough people do so, they could conceivably split their camp into two large minority blocs and allow Chung Dong-young to win by a nose in an essentially a three-man race. And that is exactly what the majority of voters do not want to see take place. But it could happen. For the ruling camp, this time around, voter alienation and resulting apathy could be a positive factor in their attempt to hang on to power.

As I suggested a couple days of go, one should never underestimate the desperate. Those who are making allegations against Lee Myung-bak may well be representing the interests of others who may find themselves being grilled by Prosecutors Office with a change of government. The stakes of tomorrow’s election could be very much larger than many may realize.

Whatever take one may have, I believe a legitimate question to ask is whether the Korean political process is maturing or retarding.

A legitimate query indeed, to which the appropriate response is “maturing”, albeit slowly and fitfully, as long as one values the rule of law over the rule of violence. Before you guffaw, consider that in the not too distant past, this sort of tussle would have been sorted out in Korea in the streets, between pipe-wielding gangs of “citizens” or by bayonet-wielding shock troops. As imperfect as the legal mechanisms in Korea are, that the antagonists in this instance are taking legal recourse is a step forward - albeit a halting one that involves their derogating the very institution on which they are relying (by calling into question the Prosecution’s already-rendered (and persuasive) determination of the dispositive issues) and potentially weakening it (either through their own likely efforts to corrupt the process and, in any event, their unwillingness to abide by the results).

In this connection, Park Geun Hye might lose some support from the worst elements of her own party for having first surfaced the BBK affair, but for the long run she’s still looking good for having played by the rules and thereby nudged her party in the same direction.

The Fox News Flash Podcast had some good video from the clash as well.