[Editorial] If DJ is to Escape from Sleepless Nights…

Only ten days before ending his term of office Feb.25, it is said that because of less sleep at night, President Kim Dae-jung skipped the weekly cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae. It is quite understandable that the President is facing a difficult time these days because he is about to see much of his legacy particularly regarding the improvement of the inter-Korean relations by having achieved the landmark 6.15 inter-Korean summit in 2000 and the miraculous economic recovery from the 1997-8 economic crisis going down in history. The two achievements are what the President wants to preserve as his legacy as president. However, his hopes for preserving such legacies intact are almost dashed because the nation is facing a fierce political wrangling over the suspicion of buying the historic inter-Korean summit with back-door money dealings with North Korea and an international credit rating company`s downgrade of the outlook for the nation`s sovereign rate.

His dashed hopes for preserving his legacy may not be only a reason for his sleepless night. He may not have slept tight not only because he might feel cold-hearted for the opposition`s labeling his five-year presidency “failures and ruins” and but also embarrassed at the president-elect Roh Moo-hyun camp`s pressure on him and his close aides to come clean about the secret payment to the North, along with the opposition.

He could have had less sleep because he felt a sense of helplessness caused by the fact that his logics such as an act of governing, something beyond the boundaries of law and national interests did not work at all and grew anxious about the fact that his appeal for the public understanding for that matter by expressing his objection to a criminal investigation and bringing light to the whole truths about the secret payment citing the unique nature of the inter-Korean relations and negative impacts on national interests as reasons only fueled the public furor further.

More than anything else, President Kim Dae-jung should discard his obsession with the legacy regarding his sunshine policy of engaging the Stalinist country. He should begin with a thorough self-examination with modesty by being satisfied with the fact that he played a role in bridging the two Koreas. President should become an exemplary predecessor to the incoming president Roh Moo-hyun by showing an attitude of admitting his mistakes and giving advices not to repeat similar mistakes for the new president, not by boasting his achievements.

Korea is now desperately in need of such a leader demonstrating a mature attitude. The nation is facing a serious situation in which relationship between the U.S. and North Korea will be deteriorated and economy will be dealt a critical blow if transparency is not secured in maintaining inter-Korean relations. It is time for the President to come forward to tell the truth about the secret payment to the North without hesitation. He should realize his personal explanation to the public is an only solution to the issue and the general public will judge it was wrong or not later.

It is undesirable not only for the president himself and the nation that the president has kept silence with respect to the secret payment even thought it is unavoidable to uncover all the truths about the scandal. No matter how painful it might be, Kim must tell the truth before the public, which may help him sleep at night with a light heart and the incoming government get off to a smooth start without burden.