(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on May 28)

'Us vs. them'

A seemingly irresolvable ideological conflict has raised its ugly head again,
this time in the wake of former President Roh Moo-hyun's sudden death last
Saturday.

Nothing better illustrates the "us vs. them" mentality of hatred than the
obstruction of homage from being paid by well-known conservatives to the late
Roh, who championed progressivism.
Fifteen months have passed since President Lee Myung-bak succeeded Roh. Still,
members of Nosamo, a group of unwavering Roh supporters, may bear a grudge
against the incumbent and the new conservative power elite.
But it is one thing for them to harbor ill feelings against those whom they may
regard as irreconcilable political adversaries. But it is quite another for some
of them to damage a floral tribute from President Lee.
After hearing the sad news last Saturday that Roh had ended his life, Lee sent a
funeral wreath to Roh's home village in South Gyeongsang Province only for it to
be damaged and thrown away by Nosamo members. He sent another, but there is no
knowing if it will be placed at the foot of Roh's altar.
Nosamo's antics did not end there. Its members blocked the passage of Kim
Hyong-o, speaker of the National Assembly, and other conservative dignitaries
into the tiny farming village when they came all the way from Seoul to pay their
last respects. They also threw eggs and other objects to visiting conservative
politicians and senior government officials.
It is not inconceivable that some of them felt deeply aggrieved, and thought Roh
fell victim to a political vendetta when prosecutors summoned him to their office
and questioned him in connection with a corruption scandal involving him and his
family. Some others may have believed that the prosecutors were wrongfully
humiliating Roh by leaking unconfirmed information to the news media to damage
his reputation.
Equally misguided were some arch-conservatives, who made caustic remarks about
Roh. One of them complained about the use of an honorific word for Roh's death by
the news media and insisted that it was against the "principles of journalism,
science and democracy because it deprived people of the right to think of a man's
death differently." Another said the use of the honorific word for a "criminal
suspect" was an "affront to democracy, which holds that all people are equal
before the law."
Magnanimity is advised for Roh's supporters. Nosamo members and others honoring
Roh's progressive ideology should be reminded of what he said in the suicide note
he left: "Do not feel sorry. Do not blame anyone. It is fate."
The same advice goes out to Roh's critics as well. The presumption of innocence
-- being considered to be innocent until proven guilty -- is a firmly established
legal principle in a democracy. There is no reason why Roh should be denied that
right. Moreover, prosecutors, after his death, ended their investigation into the
bribery case.
The conservative and progressive forces will do well to stop regarding each other
as an irreconcilable adversary. Nor should either of them attempt to exploit
Roh's death for their own cause.
Moreover, the nation needs a respite from the never-ending
conservative-progressive conflict if it is to concentrate on recovering from the
economic crisis. It cannot allow its attention to be diverted to a second wave of
anti-government protests, a similar kind it witnessed a year ago when critics
staged massive candlelight protests against U.S. beef imports.
On the occasion of Roh's death, all political parties, civic groups and others
are well advised to develop ideological differences into a source of diversity in
society, instead of allowing them to degenerate into political conflict.
(END)