Roh Moo-hyun

Roh Moo-hyun (born September 1, 1946) has been the President of South Korea since February 25, 2003. Before entering politics, Roh was a noted human rights lawyer.

His political career was marked by several dramatic events, including attempts to overcome regionalism in South Korean politics, culminating in his election to the presidency. The emergence of a liberal reformist and anti-American political movement in the country was another factor in his victory.

Roh's presidency has been marked by controversies, with his opponents staging a failed impeachment attempt. Although he was reinstated with a stronger mandate than he had when he entered office, continued controversies and accusations of incompetence resulted in a drop in popularity.

Roh's policy highlights include an unpopular decision to send Korean troops to Iraq, a failed attempt to relocate the capital from Seoul to the Chungcheong region, and a bid for a grand coalition with the conservative Grand National Party that was widely criticized.

Personal background

With First Lady Kwon Yang-sook (권양숙), Roh has a daughter (Roh Jeong-yeon, 노정연, born 1975), an embassy worker; and a son (Roh Geon-ho, 노건호, born 1973), a former electronics conglomerate employee and the current MBA students in Stanford University. Roh is a Roman Catholic, like his predecessor, Kim Dae-Jung.

Roh was born in 1946 to a poor farming family in Gimhae, near Busan, in southeastern South Korea. In 1960, he led a protest at his school against mandatory essays extolling his country's first autocrat. A high school graduate who never went to college, he worked at odd jobs after serving in the Korean army.

He studied on his own to pass the bar exam in 1975. In 1977, he became regional judge in Daejeon, and began privately practising tax law in 1978. In 1981, he defended students who had been tortured for possession of contraband literature. In early 2003, he was quoted as saying, "When I saw their horrified eyes and their missing toenails, my comfortable life as a lawyer came to an end." He opposed the autocracy in place at the time in South Korea, and participated in the pro-democracy June Struggle in 1987 against the authoritarian president Chun Doo-hwan.

Early political career

In 1988, Roh entered politics and grilled the government over corruption allegations and the 1980 Gwangju Massacre. In the same year, he was elected to the National Assembly of South Korea, representing the Unification Democratic Party (통일민주당- Tongilminjudang). Shortly thereafter, he gained popularity in the first nationally broadcast parliament hearing.

Roh's defeat in the April 2000 election in Busan was a "blessing in disguise." The news of his defeat prompted his supporters nationwide to form Nosamo, the first political fan club in Korea. His supporters were inspired by the courage and commitment shown in his struggle against regionalism.

Roh was appointed as the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries in August 2000. He was elected the presidential candidate of the ruling Millennium Democratic Party in a land slide victory, eventually winning the presidency on December 19, 2002, defeating Lee Hoi-chang of the Grand National Party by a narrow margin. His victory was a dramatic surprise, made possible by a last-minute betrayal by a political ally that backfired.

Presidency

The first year

Roh entered office with an ambitious agenda—establishing Korea as the hub of northeast Asia, continuing the engagement policy or Sunshine Policy towards North Korea started by his predecessor Kim Dae-Jung, redefining the security relationship with the United States, reform of contentious politics through compromise, decentralization of government, continuing pressure on chaebol and enhancing corporate transparency, reforming education and tax systems, improvement of labor-management relations. This ambitious program has stalled due to continuing controversy that has plagued Roh’s government, leading to intense criticism both from his supporters, who feel he has not held to his principles, and from those who have opposed his policies from the outset. His administration has been touched by allegations of corruption serious enough for him to propose a referendum on his performance. That proposal having constitutional problems, Roh then offered to step down from office if an investigation showed that his campaign team had illicitly collected as much as one-tenth of the $42 million found to have been illegally raised by the campaign for the opposition Grand National Party. The investigation suggested a figure close to one-eighth, but Roh refused to back down, disputing that figure as a matter of subjective calculation by a hostile media.

Uri Party and impeachment

Roh and his supporters left the Millennium Democratic Party in 2003 and a new party, the Uri Party (열린우리당, lit. "Our Open Party") was formed.

Roh's popularity was declining at that period: his conciliatory North Korea policy is controversial with his opponents, and his decision to send troops to Iraq was controversial with his supporters. The country has become polarized over the United States military presence in South Korea, with those wanting more autonomy from the US tending to be younger (who are also antagonized by incidents involving US troops stationed in Korea), while those more supportive of the US military presence tending to be older, and viewing North Koreans as enemies. Controversy within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade led to the replacement of the minister, and a contentious free trade treaty with Chile brought farmers to the streets.

On March 12, 2004, the South Korean National Assembly voted to impeach Roh Moo-hyun for illegal electioneering and incompetence charges. The vote was 193-2, with Roh's supporters abstaining from the vote. Pro-Roh Uri Party members had blocked the speaker's podium for 3 days to prevent a vote before being hauled out by opposition lawmakers and security guards. Roh's executive power was suspended until final decision is made by the Constitutional Court, and Prime Minister Goh Kun ran the country as the Acting President.

The National Assembly's attempt to impeach Roh met with strong opposition. Although Roh's popularity hovered around the 30% mark due to social unrest, disclosure of illegal fund-raising in the 2002 Presidential election, creation of a new party, and often-made improper remarks, many Koreans thought the impeachment was too harsh and heavy-handed, and Roh's popularity went up dramatically to 50% soon after the assembly's vote to impeach Roh. The results of the April 2004 parliamentary election showed public support for him, with the Uri Party winning a majority of seats.

On May 14, 2004, the Constitutional Court overturned the impeachment decision, restoring Roh as President, and Roh enjoyed increased support for some while after he was restored to power.

After the reinstatement

However, after he came back to the political arena, many incidents happened that severely hurt the President. After Roh Uri Party's campaign promise to make all construction companies open the prime cost of constructing apartment buildings to the public—a very popular campaign promise—was broken, the people's trust in Roh and his party slipped. There was also public distress about the President's willingness to nominate Kim Hyuk-kyu, who defected to the opposition Grand National Party just three months before the general election as new prime minister. Lee Hae Chan was instead nominated and confirmed as the new Prime Minister. Also the cabinet shake-up was unpopular because the people saw no reason to make the shake-up. There was talk that the shake-up was made for the future likely Uri Party presidential nominee in 2007 and this fact angered people. Also, worsening economic conditions made people angry at Roh, especially when he and his party repeatedly stated that economy was in good shape while people were having hard time finding work. The national pension fund crisis also hurt living standards and such events made Roh again very unpopular; his ratings at the polls stood in the lower 30%'s.

His plan to deploy ground forces in Iraq also made him very unpopular, particularly among left-wing forces who were the main supporters of Roh. Their call to end the deployment plan continued throughout Roh's term and became even louder after a South Korean named Kim Sun-il was kidnapped in Iraq by a terrorist group and was beheaded. Roh's government was not only criticized for not halting the deployment plan for Kim's sake, but also further condemned by the public when it was disclosed that an Associated Press reporter asked whether there were kidnapped Korean personnel in Iraq long before Al Jazeera showed video of Kim kidnapped. The government stated that they first learned of the incident when Al Jazeera showed the tape, but it is alleged that they knew it much earlier but sealed the incident to the public to make the public support the deployment plan. Roh's popularity dropped to the 20% level after this incident.

He was also criticized for pushing ahead the capital relocation plan from Seoul to the Chungcheong region, without giving attention to much public distress and criticism of the plan. He has repeatedly said that the criticism on the plan is being formed by major newspapers as Dong-a Ilbo and Chosun Ilbo, which are major conservative news media of the nation, and he has attacked those newspapers many times in public. On October 21, 2004, the Constitutional Court, the same institution that saved Roh from the impeachment, ruled that the special law for the relocation of the capital is unconstitutional, thus inflicting a huge blow to Roh's policy. Roh's plan was mended, with the word "capital" replaced with "administrative central", and legislated afterwards, this time gaining an approval from the Constitutional Court on November 24, 2005.

The grand coalition controversy

The ruling Uri Party had lost in every by-election under Roh's leadership, and there was no exception in the by-elections held on April 30, 2005, when the party was defeated in every of the 23 electoral districts. Facing the outcome of his unpopularity, Roh took a rather strange measure to save his presidency when he proposed a grand coalition with the opposition Grand National Party. Roh's rationale was that since it was impossible to continue his presidency with an approval rate of around 20 percent, a grand coalition comprising the Uri Party and the Grand National Party was desirable, and that the difference between both parties in terms of political agendas was actually minute. Roh promised he would yield much of his power and might even resign from office if a grand coalition was successfully launched.

Roh's proposal for the grand coalition stirred yet another national controversy. Many called his plan reckless and completely ignorant of the sentiments of people still ailing from repeated political controversies and economic hardships. Many of the Uri Party's supporters who confess as liberals were enraged at Roh holding that his party was not really different from the conservative opposition. The Grand National Party, enjoying relatively strong approval rate but still bent on revenge for the party's defeat in major elections, repeatedly declined to initiate a negotiation for the coalition. While the Uri Party grudgingly supported the President's proposal, a lawmaker defected from the party in protest of Roh's plan, and the loss of popularity was felt when the party suffered another complete defeat in the by-election on October 26, 2005, this time including one of the party's stronghold electoral districts. Roh's plan was scrapped, having failed to garner support from either political faction. However, Roh has announced that another proposal is on the way, scheduled to be issued in early 2006, to resolve "national problems" which includes plans for "his course."

Foreign relations

United States

Roh was perceived as an anti-American before the presidential race, which was not a handicap during the campaign. Public antipathy with the United States was prevalent in 2002, which was evoked by an insufficient response by the U.S. Army in a maneuver accident that cost the lives of two Korean schoolgirls, and President Bush's hard-line policy towards North Korea. Roh once remarked "is going anti-American a big deal?" before he won the presidency, which worked in Roh's favor and led many to believe he will lead an independent line in terms of relation with the U.S.

Roh's remark, however, has become a liability after he started out as the President. Conservatives in Korea and the U.S. regarded Roh with suspicion, and opposition Grand National Party routinely criticized Roh as a left-wing. Roh clumsily attempted to make up for this negative image, when he made his first visit to the U.S. and said he would have been in a (communist) concentration camp had there not been support from the United States. Roh's comment was ill-received by many Koreans, who felt the comment was too self-deprecating and insulting to national pride. Roh's revelation was all the more alarming because his obedient attitude seemed to be in discord with a comment he had made during the presidential campaign stating that he would not visit the United States only to do some photo-ops.

Many Koreans felt betrayed when Roh decided to deploy troops to Iraq in support of the U.S.-led military campaign. Although Roh excused the deployment as only a peacekeeping mission and claimed that such commitment was required to bring favor from the U.S. in resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis, opponents criticized Roh being a puppet driven by the United States.

Relationship with the U.S. has been made more complicated during the ongoing negotiations with North Korea over its nuclear program. South Korea's moderate line didn't stand well with that of United States, and U.S. repeatedly opposed South Korea's economic aid to the North, saying economic aid only strengthens North Korea's stubborness and hurts the combined effort for negotiation.

In March 2006, South Korea announced it will initiate a talk with the U.S. for a free trade agreement. Many, including Roh's former economic advisor, expressed concern that the government is acting too hastily, and the effect of the agreement will be detrimental to the nation's economy. Despite such opposition, Roh repeatedly supported the idea, saying that he's got a good feeling about it.

Japan

See also: Korean-Japanese disputes

Relationship with Japan was in healthy condition when Roh entered office. However, many Koreans were enraged when Roh called Dokdo by the Japanese name Takeshima when he responded to a question by a Japanese in a TV program broadcasted in Japan during his first visit to the neighboring country in 2003, and his visit to the Japanese emperor was scheduled on a date that coincided with Korean Memorial Day.

During the visit, Roh proclaimed he would not seek any more apologies from Japan over its colonial occupation, in the hope of further friendly relationship between the two countries. Although Roh's proclamation was made in good faith, some expressed concern that Japan may interpret this as the termination of its responsibility for the colonial past, and use it as an excuse to deny any claims for compensation that may arise in the future.

Despite Roh's hope, relation with Japan deteriorated henceforth, in several areas of conflict such as compensation issues for comfort women, denial of colonial past in Japanese history textbooks, and dispute over Dokdo. Another sensitive issue, Prime Minister Koizumi's repeated visit to Yasukuni Shrine was harshly criticized in South Korea, and Roh declared no further meetings with Koizumi will take place unless the prime minister stops visiting the shrine.

Although bad terms with Japan haven't been favorable for the nation's interest, Roh, in a way, benefited from the disputes. His approval rating saw a momentary surge with every breakout of the disputes, and he took advantage of the situation with a number of nationally televised speech dealing with the issues.

In a recent address to the nation on April 25, 2006 on the disputes over Dokdo, Roh reaffirmed that he doesn't seek another apology from Japan, but demanded Japan's action in compliance with past apologies.^*. The speech was applauded by many Koreans despite Roh's low popularity.

External links

Official English page of Roh Moo-hyun
The Uri Party (in Korean)
Nosamo: Roh Moo-hyun's fan club (in Korean)
"Roh Defiant on Korea-US Tension", The Chosun Ilbo, January 25, 2006.
"Profile: Roh Moo-hyun", BBC News, May 14, 2004.
"The Roh Impeachment: An American Perspective", The Jeju Times, February 2003.
"President Roh Moo-hyun and the New Politics of South Korea", The Asia Society, February 2003.
"Roh Moo-hyun, South's Man of the People", The Age, February 26, 2003.
"Profile: President-elect Roh Moo-hyun", CNN, December 31, 2002.
^*

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Roh Moo-hyun