[Editorial] What Roh’s Photo Ops with Kim Costs South Koreans

Numerous South Koreans are agitated and angry, looking at the agreements Roh has allegedly cut with the regime in Pyongyang at his recent summit meeting.

Roh promises an army of new projects that would cost taxpayers trillions of dollars. Roh told the North Korean dictator that he would invest in establishment of a peace zone in the Yellow Sea, construction of a special economic zone, 2nd-phase development of the North Korean city of Gaesong, construction of a railroad between two North Korean cities, Gaesong and Shinuiju, and construction of a Gaesong-Pyongyang highway, to name just a few. It’s not going to be Roh, but South Korean taxpayers who will have to cough up the money to realize Roh’s fancy deals.

No wonder we feel devastated.

As unhappily expected, the balance sheet from current inter-Korean exchange projects is heavily tilting toward the debt side. Citing figures in a report commissioned by the Finance Ministry to the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, Grand National Party (GNP) Congressman Kwon Young-se argued, “To realize all the promises of Roh, our taxpayers have to pay a whopping $70 to $120 billion for the next 15 years.” GNP Representative Lee Hae-bong projected the total cost as $114 billion based on studies conducted by the Korea Institute for National Unification.

So far, however, what we have estimated only major projects and programs. Minor ones that have popped up after the latest inter-Korean summit will also cost an amount that is not minor in any sense at all. To help develop the natural resources in the Dancheon region in the North, for example, our taxpayers will have to chip in another $1 billion. Furthermore, they will have to pay yet another $5 billion to fund Roh’s promise of creating an inter-Korean cultural community, and additional $19 billion to set up power grids to relay electricity to Pyongyang.

South Korean taxpayers are being forced to pay these astronomical amounts of tax money just to save Roh’s face and pick up the bills charged by the brutal regime for Roh’s photo opportunities with dictator Kim.

But Unification Minister Lee Jae-jeong alleged yesterday at a congressional hearing, “This is not waste. It is important for our economy.” He further contended, “Reform or opening of the regime is not something that we can ask for; it’s up to North Korea.” We cannot believe how one of our ministers could be so disrespectful of the concerns of Korean taxpayers.

The amounts involved are astronomical. Should we have to pay, we have to make sure North Korean citizens benefit, not Kim or his men. We need assurances that our contributions will turn the regime into a freer and more democratic society. Otherwise, the money will go directly into the personal pockets of the brutal ruler or his men. In any respect or sense, it is too much a sum for us to pay to please a “retiring” president and compensate for his photo ops.