An Interview with Cardinal Kim

“Our current situation is like a ship facing a typhoon on the open sea. President Roh Moo-hyun must take the lead,” clarified Cardinal Soo Hwan Kim.

“It seems as if the statements of President Roh change depending on his mood. He has to make his words trustworthy to citizens,” Cardinal Kim emphasized during a phone interview with our newspaper.

Regarding internal anti-American sentiment in Korea, he earnestly requested for a strong U.S.-Korea alliance stating that a “damaged alliance between the U.S. and Korea will only lead to loss on our side, and Japan and China will no longer trust us, thus we`ll eventually lose credibility internationally.”

“The only survival for North Korea is to first give up its nuclear programs. However, in return, the U.S. must guarantee the safety of North Korea as well as provide economic assistance to the impoverished county,” stated Cardinal Kim regarding the solution to resolve the North Korean Nuclear Crisis.

Moreover, regarding the issue of President Roh refusing the extension of the special investigation on the money remittance to North Korea, he expressed regret by stating that “he should have had the special investigation unit decide whether to extend the investigation or not.”

Concerning the continuous strikes by labor unions, the Cardinal stated that “even in the strike situation of Chohung Bank, the government yielded on many issues but one sided concessions is not the solution.” He criticized the government`s response while earnestly asking for labor unions to restrain from severe strikes.

Chae-Hyun Kwon confetti@donga.com