President Roh to Respect the Outcome of the April General Elections

President Roh Moo-hyun met with a group of journalists from a city of the Incheon and Gyeonggi Province at Cheong Wa Dae on February 18. “If the threshold to revise the Constitution (more than one-third of the number of assembly seats) is destroyed in the April 15 general elections, I do not know what will happen,” he said.

President Roh also said that he did not want to have the National Assembly under his full control and he could well lead the nation without support from a majority if it is possible to establish the National Assembly by the elections where rational efforts pave the way for holding a dialogue without prejudice and wrongful intents.

He added, “One cannot definitely state that the results of the general elections are equivalent to a confidence vote of my leadership, but I think that the results should be regarded as people’s assessment and be respected as such.” His remark implies that although he may not directly link the election results to a confidence vote, the general election would have a meaning of intermediate evaluation by the public. President Roh also added, “after people review my faults and further evaluate my leadership and management of state affairs, they will then cast their votes, so that people’s evaluation will be reflected in the number of assembly seats.”

When asked about when to enter the pro-government Uri Party, Roh denied an early admission to the party, saying that since many people regarded what he has done as election strategies and an early admission to the Uri Party would leave him embroiled in a political dispute, he planed to enter the Uri Party as late as possible. “If I join the Uri Party at an inevitable time, I will participate in the political activities shortly until the general elections finish,” he said. He implied that he planed to enter the Uri Party when the general elections drew near.

Jeong-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com