South Korean politics is in a sorry state

SEOUL: South Korean politics is in a miserable state, with rival parties engaging in acrimonious argument over political gambits and scandals. Regrettably, the ruling and opposition parties don't appear to be interested in making any effort to put local politics back on track at an early date.

Apparently, opposition leader Lee Hoi-chang had this sorry state of affairs in mind when he held his New Year news conference Tuesday. And yet he failed to provide measures to mitigate tensions that have eroded relations between the rival parties. In all fairness, his press conference hardly provided a turning point.

It was regrettable that Lee could not initiate moves that would bring about a favorable change in the political atmosphere. But, this was not surprising, given the disappointment the public felt following President Kim Dae-jung's New Year conference last week. We cannot say whose conference was better or worse. What is certain is that the two rival politicians gave the impression that they were engaged in political tit-for-tats.

Lee's press conference was held at a time when his Grand National Party was in trouble because of allegations that a state intelligence agency bankrolled the campaigns of many of its lawmakers in the 1996 parliamentary elections. President Kim, in his New Year conference, referred directly to the issue, asserting that the money "meant to be used for catching enemy spies" was diverted for other purposes.

Naturally, what the opposition leader would say on this question was of particular interest. Lee said his party would apologize to the people and take responsibility if it was found to have committed illegalities. He was right to say so. In a sense, this statement could be construed as an expression of willingness to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.

Yet, Lee proposed appointing an independent counsel for the investigation of this allegation. That he made this proposal is understandable, given the opposition's deep-rooted distrust of the prosecution. Lee further suggested letting the independent counsel investigate allegations of wrongdoing with regard to political funds of all the parties. Not surprisingly, the ruling Millennium Democratic Party instantly rejected the offer.

This campaign funding scandal is growing increasingly controversial. The opposition characterizes the prosecution's probe of this matter as being politically motivated. It may have some grounds to make this assertion. However, this allegation itself certainly merits a full probe. It is clearly an extremely serious matter if the intelligence agency diverted its budget to support some lawmakers in elections.

The rival parties should desist from their incessant wrangling over this scandal. It should be handled in an intelligent manner. First of all, the opposition ought to assume an open attitude of cooperating with the prosecution in the investigation. After that, it may ask for a further probe, possibly by an independent counsel, into other corruption allegations concerning political funds, including President Kim's alleged slush funds.

In his conference, Lee also criticized President Kim for projecting too rosy a prospect for the national economy. Although he pointed to manipulative politics by the ruling camp as one of the factors that contributed to the current economic difficulties, the opposition leader did not present any concrete steps to revive the economy. We trust that the opposition party will soon come up with its own plans for addressing the nation's economic woes.

Opposition leader Lee also differed from President Kim in his views on a number of other issues, including press reform. There is such a huge gap that it is questionable whether their parties will be able to find common ground in overseeing affairs of major significance.

However, they cannot afford to remain paralyzed. They ought to try to find clues to resolving the current political stalemate and concentrating their efforts on more constructive matters.

President Kim seems to be remiss in appreciating Lee as a political partner. Lee gained nearly 10 million votes in the 1997 presidential election, and is now leading the opposition party. How can the ruling camp conduct politics while ignoring the political weight of Lee?

For their part, Lee and the GNP must show moderation. Lee even threatened to try to topple the present government. This stance is understandable, given the difficult situation in which the opposition party finds itself. But resorting to hard-line policies will not help resolve the problems.

In short, amenable attitudes in both camps are necessary for South Korea to pull itself out of the current economic and political morass.

-- The Korea Herald/Asia News Network