ID :
201246
Mon, 08/15/2011 - 04:16
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/201246
The shortlink copeid
Ugly presidential quarrel
The Korea Times on Aug. 15)
(AAP) - Quarrels between former national leaders never look good. All the more so when their arguments are about money. But the nation can ill afford to smooth over the indirect verbal battle between ex-Presidents Roh Tae-woo and Kim Young-sam about campaign funds in the 1992 election. The public has the right to know the truth and the sooner, the better.
It seems as if general-turned-President Roh wants to emphasize, in his recently published memoir, that he did not pocket all the trillions of won in slush funds he collected in office, but gave at least 300 billion won to his eventual successor Kim as campaign money.
For his part, Kim, the first civilian president in three decades, appears to think it does not matter if he had received the money, not as an individual but through a political party.
Their attitudes more than just disappoint voters. What really matters should be both ex-leaders seriously violated even the generous campaign finance laws of their times by raising, giving and receiving a huge amount of money, if what Roh confessed in his book is true. Neither of them is now punishable, as the statute of limitations has long expired. But politicians should be more afraid of the judgment of public opinions.
In the case of retired officials, especially national leaders, it is tied to their legacy, how they are written about in history.
Equally disappointing in this regard are the ways the two ex-leaders dealt with this scandal. Roh???s camp had kept the donation of money as a secret probably to pressure Kim in negotiations for Roh???s early release from jail. (Kim imprisoned his two predecessors _ Roh and another general-turned President Chun Doo-hwan _ for having staged coup d???etat and creating slush funds.) Now aides to the ailing Roh are belatedly calling for Kim to recognize the fact and apologize to the people.
Former President Kim is little better. The first response Kim showed to Roh???s memoir reportedly was ``How bad a state is he in? How can such a seriously ill person write a book???? Kim???s second son, who was called ???the little president??? by making unwarranted interventions in state affairs while Kim was in office, issued an unofficial response on behalf of his father saying, ``It makes no sense he gave election funds to a candidate directly.??? It would have been far better for Kim to respond himself out of courtesy to his predecessor and to the people.
Both Roh and Kim might think themselves unfairly underestimated in the nation???s modern politics, and not entirely without reason.
Although having committed coup d???etat, Roh played the role of a bridge for the nation to return to civilian rule and opened an era of detente with North Korea. Kim, despite disastrous economic mismanagement that put Korea under IMF receivership, set free this country from the grip of politicized generals for good, and led Korea toward a more transparent financial system. Both were transitional figures burdened with the limitations of their times, including money politics.
One of their last services to the country will be to tell the people what actually happened _ how they raised the money and used it. For Roh, it would be doubly difficult, as he has yet to fulfill the legal obligation of returning more slush funds.
Only when these former leaders lay bare entire facts about the era of black money and their roles in it, however, will the people forgive them and give them their fair dues in history.
(AAP) - Quarrels between former national leaders never look good. All the more so when their arguments are about money. But the nation can ill afford to smooth over the indirect verbal battle between ex-Presidents Roh Tae-woo and Kim Young-sam about campaign funds in the 1992 election. The public has the right to know the truth and the sooner, the better.
It seems as if general-turned-President Roh wants to emphasize, in his recently published memoir, that he did not pocket all the trillions of won in slush funds he collected in office, but gave at least 300 billion won to his eventual successor Kim as campaign money.
For his part, Kim, the first civilian president in three decades, appears to think it does not matter if he had received the money, not as an individual but through a political party.
Their attitudes more than just disappoint voters. What really matters should be both ex-leaders seriously violated even the generous campaign finance laws of their times by raising, giving and receiving a huge amount of money, if what Roh confessed in his book is true. Neither of them is now punishable, as the statute of limitations has long expired. But politicians should be more afraid of the judgment of public opinions.
In the case of retired officials, especially national leaders, it is tied to their legacy, how they are written about in history.
Equally disappointing in this regard are the ways the two ex-leaders dealt with this scandal. Roh???s camp had kept the donation of money as a secret probably to pressure Kim in negotiations for Roh???s early release from jail. (Kim imprisoned his two predecessors _ Roh and another general-turned President Chun Doo-hwan _ for having staged coup d???etat and creating slush funds.) Now aides to the ailing Roh are belatedly calling for Kim to recognize the fact and apologize to the people.
Former President Kim is little better. The first response Kim showed to Roh???s memoir reportedly was ``How bad a state is he in? How can such a seriously ill person write a book???? Kim???s second son, who was called ???the little president??? by making unwarranted interventions in state affairs while Kim was in office, issued an unofficial response on behalf of his father saying, ``It makes no sense he gave election funds to a candidate directly.??? It would have been far better for Kim to respond himself out of courtesy to his predecessor and to the people.
Both Roh and Kim might think themselves unfairly underestimated in the nation???s modern politics, and not entirely without reason.
Although having committed coup d???etat, Roh played the role of a bridge for the nation to return to civilian rule and opened an era of detente with North Korea. Kim, despite disastrous economic mismanagement that put Korea under IMF receivership, set free this country from the grip of politicized generals for good, and led Korea toward a more transparent financial system. Both were transitional figures burdened with the limitations of their times, including money politics.
One of their last services to the country will be to tell the people what actually happened _ how they raised the money and used it. For Roh, it would be doubly difficult, as he has yet to fulfill the legal obligation of returning more slush funds.
Only when these former leaders lay bare entire facts about the era of black money and their roles in it, however, will the people forgive them and give them their fair dues in history.
