[Opinion] `Thirty Second Victory`

Four years ago, former President Kim Young-Sam could not take the pressure from presidential nominee Lee Hoi-Chang and left the party like he was being chased away. Similarly, President Kim Dae Jung`s resignation as party president is like a father who finally got sick and tired of the fight among the children and decided to leave home. Although the two cases differ in character, they both share the fact that they are family fights. It is a matter of course that the party members will fight over the left over property once the `father` figure leaves. Yet, the fighting inside the problematic party is heating up even after President Kim left home as if battle is the only existing objective.

It is logical that all this noise began after the ruling party lost in the by-elections, but the important question is why the people have turned away from the ruling party? The party did make too many enemies but the larger problem is bad economy. The impact of the global economy has something to do with it but the question on people`s minds is whether the administration`s response to the situation was adequate.

On top of this, the revelations about power-holding organizations and MDP names being connected to organized crime around issues of economic rights, and the undermining of the basic democratic principle of equal opportunity have hurt the people`s sense of trust. Party members` explanation that the fact of violation has not been confirmed carries no weight. It has been a while since people have expressed how `sick and tired` they are of the endless requests and pressures put on by influential members of the ruling party. It is sheer greed to expect the people to overlook these things and put everything behind them. The election results only showed what the people were already feeling.

Instead of rolling up their sleeves and concentrating on reviving the economy, the loser of the by-elections – the MDP – spent their days engaging in power struggles and experienced an unusual turn of events when the president left the party. The effects remain to be seen, but if President Kim`s departure creates political chaos and as a result damage the economy further, the responsibility will fall on both the person who left and those who made him leave.

Especially worrisome is the fact that the President stepped down without blessing the next presidential nominee and how government officials will act in light of this. The officials are already giving the impression that they are ready to be give up dealing with difficult issues and policies that the opposition party is forcefully pushing for, as if to say, `If you don’t like it, forget it. Good luck with the next administration.` The announcement that the administration will postpone addressing the issue of relaxing regulations on corporations for three years and hand it over to the next administration is the representative symbol of this attitude. We are left with the impression that the results of the presidential elections have already been decided and the fate of the government ministers` have been sealed with the end of this administration.

There is a good possibility that the issue of Hynix semiconductor, which will meet difficult challenges in the Spring of next year, may become another symbolic case of governmental disregard. If there is going to be a public hearing when the next administration takes over, the present administration who is responsible for the mess may shake off responsibility and put the burden on the next administration. The possibility that officials, who can take all the work on reform and structural changes back to square one, may sabotage all the efforts should be taken seriously.

The present political situation is similar to the situation five years ago and the economy is also coming to resemble the economy at that point. Investment in infrastructure is endlessly plummeting while exports are crawling. In the meantime, the powerful current of China is becoming more and more of a threat everyday. Next year for Korea is a historical time to reorganize everything in order to restore the economy, which is currently running against all odds. The present administration, however, is focused on inside fighting. How the economy will turn out after this is totally predictable.

The administration has clear responsibilities which it must take care of near the end of the term. There may be things, too, which the administration can do only at this point in time. Finding out what these things are and resolutely doing them may make up for all the mistakes that the administration has made until now. A boxer fights with everything he has in the last thirty seconds of the final round because he may be able to win over the judges. Perhaps the same thing applies to the administration.

President Kim Dae-Jung has to move in this direction if he wants to be remembered as a great leader. President Bill Clinton won his second election and secured the admiration of the people after leaving office despite all the humiliation surrounding his involvement with Monica Lewinsky because the economy remained strong. Just lasting until the end may be hard at this point because of all the energy President Kim spent on ineffective diplomacy with the North and venting his anger on the innocent population. Yet, it may be that a final spurt to raise the economy from the rubble in the last thirty seconds could elevate the economic and political status of the administration.

kyumlee@donga.com