[Editorial] President Roh: Denying Himself the “Genuineness” of Coalition Offer

After three months passed since President Roh Moo-hyun offered the idea of forming a coalition government to the Grand National Party (GNP), Cheong Wa Dae categorized the GNP as “a remnant party of the Park Jung-hee’s dictatorship.” GNP leader Park Geun-hye asked President Roh about his position on the controversy over professor Kang Jeong-gu, saying, “The system of liberal democracy should not be shaken,” President Roh countered, “It is the Grand National Party where major players and criminals during the dictatorship in the past have rooted down.” Did he really want to form a coalition government with such a party? It surely is a political comedy.

Concerning President Roh’s suggestion on the coalition, he said, “There is not much difference with the GNP in terms of the party line.” He also said during his talk with Park, “Both parties’ legitimacy should be mutually recognized.” At a time when the GNP has been dubbed as “a remnant party of the Park Jung-hee’s dictatorship,” one may doubt whether these remarks are valid at all.

Despite the public opposition and the controversies of constituency, President Roh continued asking the GNP, which he had just assaulted, to form a coalition. Come to think of it now, it merely was a tactical strategy, far from being genuine. It seems to have been a mere political card to escape such a full-scale crisis resulting from the administrative failures.

President Roh must come up with explanations in any form. Once he seemed to be obsessed with the idea of coalition, and now he mentions nothing about it even when he turned his back to the GNP. How should the public buy it? It is still hard to accept even considering the controversy over professor Kang. President Roh must have offered the idea of coalition to further develop politics and integrate the public, merely regarding his would-be partnering party as “a specter of the Park Jung-hee dictatorship, who used to violate human rights.” Such a hypocritical attitude even seems scary.