[Opinion] Rhee In Je`s `Light`

After I finished school and came back to the country, I spent three years working as a part-time lecturer. My friends who saw me running around applying for jobs in research institutes and such gave me earnest advice: look for connections to ministers or Cheong Wa Dae officials.

Even in the early 1990s, it was common knowledge, albeit unspoken, that those who got jobs in the political research department in national policy research institutes had powerful connections. But nothing is free in life. I did not want to get into a situation where I had to pay back for my first step into the professional world. When I became a college professor with federal aid, I could write political criticisms in news columns without any worries. On the occasions when readers compliment me and ask me how I articulate their thoughts so well and clearly, I say to myself, "I am not indebted to anyone."

I reminisce about my early days as I observe the democratic candidate debates because I feel that the person who runs for the presidency of a nation should not be indebted to anyone for getting there. May be it is because the candidates are so young, but many of them are relatively `debt-free`. Yet, I still felt that some among them were concerned more about grabbing power than making a commitment to leading the country. The Cheong Wa Dae has been drowning in series of corruption scandals and for the NMDP to regain the public`s confidence and mobilize support for preliminary elections with citizen participation, they must run a fair election above everything else. This is necessary not simply to make a direct impact on other parties but also to advance the Korean party system. An internal faction in the party distorting the preliminary results will create a very distressing situation.

Several days ago, former top senior NMDP member Kwon No-Gap clearly expressed his intention to quietly support a special candidate in an interview. Mr. Kwon`s support for standing advisor Rhee In Je is a widely known secret. One cannot blame a party member for being political, but when someone gives support for someone else, that candidate becomes indebted to special interest. The debt would not be a problem if the candidate can pay it back by carrying out his public promise or political duties, but in a different situation he will be tied to special interest or individual authority. Currently, we have members inside parties saying that the administration failed due to personnel failures and ties to special interest groups. This is why even associations without ideology or political solidarity are of no help to the people.

In addition, there are several things that must happen before Mr. Rhee In Je is elected as the NMDP nominee. First, Mr. Rhee must honestly confess his wrongdoings and plead for the people`s forgiveness. He denounced the GNP preliminary results during the last elections. He argued that politics based on public opinion is democratic politics, and used the low level of public support for Mr. Lee Hoi-Chang shown in the polls as the basis for protesting against the results. This, however, was mere sophistry. If his argument is true, why not choose the nominees through polls rather than holding preliminaries or signing consent forms? Second, Mr. Rhee must announce his intention to rely on none of his allies support but to run on his own efforts. Today`s preliminaries is the fruit of the NMDP party reforms, but Mr. Rhee played no active role in this. While others were crying out for reform and buying the contempt of their colleagues, Mr. Rhee went about meeting with key power figures in the nation. For him to certify that he will carry on with the democratization process for the parties, he must cut off all ties with his powerful connections. Third, he must pledge to reject regionalism as the representative candidate of the younger Korean generation. Mr. Rhee`s meetings with the Three Kims, approving the three party alliance between the Jaminryon (United Liberal Democrats) and the Minkook parties clearly indicates that he will rely on regionalist support. If Mr. Rhee should become the candidate without these three things happening beforehand, the currently circulating opinion about `Rhee In Je`s certain failure` may become a reality.

The NMDP has the duty to promote an alternative plan for this year`s presidential elections which will allow the public, who want a discriminating plan for the Grand National Party, to freely choose their candidate. If Mr. Kwon pushes for Mr. Rhee, who sought the nomination as the GNP candidate in the last election, without carrying out the three things beforehand, it will be tantamount to trampling on the NMDP and the public`s true wishes.

One of the reasons why the Kim Dae-Jung administration`s reform policy failed was the indebtedness to Jaminryon president Kim Jong-Pil. Historically, presidents who have benefited from regionalism has implemented personnel policy based on favoritism. One hopes that in this year`s presidential elections a candidate without any such ties or debts will emerge.

Cho Ki-Sook (Ehwa Women`s University Graduate School of International Studies, Professor of Political Science)