Vote Of Confidence A Must

On October 23, President Roh announced once again that the referendum will take place and that the date could be adjusted if the political arena desires so.

Roh, currently on his visit to Singapore, had a press interview in the morning at Shangri-La, the hotel where he is staying, and clearly reiterated his will to go ahead with the confidence vote saying, “I said I would try to persuade the political arena to assent to the vote of confidence proposal in the beginning and ending parts of my speech on government reform (before leaving Korea). Since I mentioned a phrase that entails heavy responsibility such as ‘vote of confidence,’ I will try not to go back on my word as much as possible,” he added.

Roh also said, “I suggested December 15 as the date for referendum considering the schedule of the regular session of the National Assembly, because I believed the sooner it is addressed the better.” Roh added, “But since they do not agree with it, I will meet with the four party leaders to discuss the date, and if they want, the date can be adjusted.”

Concerning U.S. President George W. Bush’s proposal for “guaranteeing North Korea’s security within the six-party framework,” Roh judged that “President Bush mentioning ‘security’ is a big progress because the U.S. had reservations on resolving the issue through dialogue until now,” and that “they have given the North Korean leadership a leeway to respect and took a big step forward.”

President Roh also predicted, “Since the (North Korea security) plan has not taken a concrete shape yet, the discussion will be held on the Korea-U.S.-Japan table, and it will most likely have substantial binding power during the negotiation.”

Jeong-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com