[Editorial] When the President Runs into Conflict with Constitutional Bodies

It was not prudent for President Roh Moo-hyun to express his support for the repeal of the National Security Law on the “Current Affairs Magazine 2580” of the TV network MBC. Publicly expressing an opinion that runs directly counter to recent rulings by the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court in favor of the law’s continuance constitutes poor judgment and will open him to criticism, regardless of whether his motive is right or wrong.

The Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court are constitutional bodies, and he cannot ignore them just because he disagrees with them. He is the head of the state before he is head of his administration. His remarks could shape up as a denial of the authority of constitutional organizations. He is of course entitled to express his own legislative opinion as head of the administration, but in that case, he should do so formally, to the legislature.

The president’s remarks on the abuses of the NSL in the past deserve some support. There were certain elements of truth in his statement that the law “has been used to punish opponents of the regime, not perpetrators who endanger the state.” However, this has been true only under the military dictatorship of the past. Since its 1991 revision, the current NSL has far less chance of being applied arbitrarily. Is it that both the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court defended the past abuses in their rulings?

Rulings at the Constitutional or Supreme courts have more meaning than usual legal interpretations in a country prone to be divided over major national agendas, depending on its people’s generational attitudes and political beliefs. This is because these bodies sort out what’s right and what’s not, preventing society from getting mired in extreme confusion. Therefore, their decisions should be respected. Although there has been much debate in the National Assembly about the future of the NSL, it is so sensitive that the progress of the talk is slow. It is to the point that neither the ruling party nor the opposition party has reached any conclusion yet.

A well-balanced and productive debate will be hardly likely when the president makes public statements giving the impression that he has taken a firm position on the divisive NSL issue.