Roh, "Our Ultimate Goal is Mass Democracy"

President Roh Moo-hyun made a special speech on January 10 to the 400 staff of Cheong Wa Dae at the Saemaeul main training center located in Sungnam City in Gyeonggi Province.

In his speech, President Roh said that the typical corrupt structure unites “politics-authority-the press-money” in one and forms a composition of power that is now under dissolution. Rooting out this structure will be the political goal and subject of reform, one that is greatly anticipated by the public.

Quoting an anecdote of Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States who was the first elected President from non-mainstreamers and also famous for his informal attitude, President Roh said, “[However] our goal not only lies in dismantling the corrupt structure. We will have to launch a new mass democracy rather than the current elite democracy,” stressing the change in paradigm on political operation. “If being asked what I have done,” he continued, “I would like to say that, as President, I have daringly investigated the core of irrationality and decomposed the main structure of illicit connections and corruptions.”

“Last year must have been difficult and painful, but if we steadily follow the same pace in the future, we will see an era when the President does his own business and the National Assembly its own.” said Roh, especially mentioning that misuse of powers by the authority and the press, or illicit connections between these two parties, have almost disappeared.

President Roh additionally said, “The prosecution, the National Intelligence Service, the Police, the National Tax Office and many other government agencies are not powerful any more in terms of reign over the public, and for that purpose, I have selected government officials under the standard of one’s royalty toward the public.” Roh added that separation between the authorities has been completed, and questionable connections between corporations and the authorities seem to be gone.

Roh asserted, “When we were shouting for the road to democracy, few of us believed that the movement in June of 1987 would ever happen or turn out to be a success. However, the world can only change if we continuously move forward our ultimate goal with a strong will and ambition.”

Jeong-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com