[Opinion] Frm. President Roh’s Playing Bully Again

Former President Roh Moo-hyun’s close confidant Ahn Hee-jeong (now a Supreme Council member of the United Democratic Party) was reported to have made a secret contact with a North Korean official in Beijing, China earlier in 2007. Kwon Oh-hong, who arranged the confidential meeting, told the Dong-A Ilbo in an interview that, “The meeting was designed to map out an inter-Korean summit talk called under the code name “playing bully.” The whole nation was astonished by the fact that then President Roh ordered Ahn, who not only had no experience in dealing with the North, but also held no government post, to contact the communist state and that neither Roh nor Ahn, given they called the summit “playing bully,” seemed to have prudence to discern public and private matters.

The recent letter from Roh to President Lee Myung-bak is reminiscent of the “playing bully” game. Promising he would return all the classified documents he took to his residence at Bongha village, in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, the former president said, “How can I further resist to the threats in the face of possible prosecutions of my retired aides?” What he meant apparently stemmed not from legal compliance, but from his consideration of his aides. He also criticized the incumbent president, saying that, “President Lee promised to treat me with due respect, but it turned out an empty talk.” He added, “Feeling dreadful, I withdraw from this fight.” We once again find ourselves stunned by his recognition of this development as a “fight.”

In the letter, Roh said, “I once thought about taking issue with the current administration over legal principles.” During his term in office, Roh liked arguing matters over the principles of law. Interpreting the warning over the president’s lack of political neutrality from the election watchdog on his own and ignoring it, Roh was unprecedentedly impeached by the National Assembly. According to Act on the Management of Presidential Records, which took effect in April last year, a former president has priority to have access to the national archives when he or she wants to see documents produced during his or her term. That does not mean, however, that he is free to take the confidential documents with him. The law should never be interpreted precariously.

As the former president openly revealed his indignation in the letter, President Lee is reported not to press charges against former President Roh and his aides if he returns all the documents in question intact. We are not sure whether Lee’s decision comes from his real due respect for the former president or perhaps from his unwillingness to confront Roh. But one thing for sure is that the principles of law and order have not taken a firm root. It is regrettable that the political leadership, which should adhere to the rule of law, more often that not disrespects the principle.

Editorial Writer Kim Chang-hyeok (chang@donga.com)