Memoir Says Late Pres. Roh Called Himself `Failure`

A book released yesterday said the late former President Roh Moo-hyun considered himself a failed leader, saying before his suicide, “What I hold now is memories of failure and frustration.”

“Success and Frustration – President Roh Moo-hyun’s Incomplete Memoir” features the 90-page incomplete draft written for his memoir immediately before his death. Also included is what he wrote on an unofficial Internet club and off-the-record interviews along with the unfinished draft.

“I’m ready to accept the ruling of the judiciary process. I’ll live with a repenting heart,” he wrote when his family and associates were investigated for bribery. He said he wrote the memoir because “the only thing a suspect can do is write about his past.”

“I hope you can understand and embrace me, but also hope I will not be burdensome in the advancement of democracy and history,” he said.

A month before his suicide when he watched his son Gun-ho go to a prosecutor’s office surrounded by reporters on TV, Roh said a camera can become a lethal weapon.

Roh also clarified his supporters’ strong opposition in pursuing a free trade agreement with the U.S. and dispatching Korean forces to Iraq.

On the agreement, he said, “I want to make sure that liberal political activists must check policies through a scientific verification process.”

On the troop dispatch, he said, “History could see this as the wrong choice but it was an inevitable choice for a president.”

jin0619@donga.com