Roh driven into corner for repeated brushes with law

Hankyoreh, June 19, 2007

Political woes are deepening at the office of President Roh Moo-hyun on Tuesday, following the election watchdog's third verdict on the president's violation of a clause of the election law stipulating the political neutrality of all government officials.

Apparently losing its patience with the defiant president, the National Election Commission (NEC) toughened the wording of its written warning this time and urged Roh to refrain from making politically sensitive remarks for the remainder of his term, set to expire next February.

The NEC withheld its judgment on whether Roh violated a more critical clause of the election law banning pre-electioneering, but delivered what appeared to be an ultimatum as it indicated that any further act of pre-electioneering by the president would be reported to the prosecution, according to political watchers.

"In the previous verdict, the NEC simply asked the president to remain silent until the end of December's presidential poll. But this time, the watchdog body withheld its decision on Roh's pre-electioneering, suggesting that a further violation of the law would be taken more seriously and reported to the prosecution," said a law professor at a private Seoul university.

Illegal pre-electioneering can be punishable by fines of up to 4 million won (US$4,300) or jail terms as long as two years.

The watchers forecast that Roh's alleged bid to exercise influence over the presidential election will suffer further setbacks from the NEC's warning, while the newly imposed political restraint is likely to accelerate his lame duck status.

Roh's first violation of the election law in March 2004 led to his impeachment by the National Assembly, though he was reinstated by the Constitutional Court two months later.

Amid growing hostility between Roh's political allies and the GNP this year, the president again ran afoul of the election law on June 2, when he openly said it would be "horrible" to imagine the GNP seizing power in December and harshly criticized its leading presidential hopefuls including Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye.

Roh said both Lee's inland waterway project and Park's Korea-China train-ferry service project are insignificant compared to his government's Northeast Asian hub scheme, and urged all anti-GNP forces to unite and put forward one strong presidential candidate.

The NEC ruled on June 7 that Roh's June 2 remarks constituted a violation of his obligation to maintain political neutrality under the election law.

Following the June 7 verdict, however, Roh became more defiant and bitterly criticized the NEC's verdict, as well as opposition presidential candidates.

On June 8, the president, speaking to an audience at a private university, said Lee's campaign pledges to build a Seoul-Busan inland canal and enforce massive tax cuts are "deceptive" and that some clauses of the election law, which he was accused of violating, are an "unprecedented hypocrisy" worldwide.

Two days later, Roh again said at a public ceremony that the GNP was trying to resort to the popularity of military dictator and former president Park Chung-hee who ruled South Korea with an iron fist for 18 years. He also called for the revision of the election law obliging the president to stay politically neutral.

On June 13, Roh again provoked the NEC and the opposition party by saying in a newspaper interview he would support candidates running on the ticket of the pro-government Uri Party and that the election law was unconstitutional.

The NEC's successive rulings were issued after the GNP filed a complaint with the election watchdog, accusing the president of violating the election law. Roh has countered that he, as a popularly elected politician, has the right to engage in political activities and remarks, and proposed amending the law.

Embarrassed by the unexpected ruling, Roh's office, Cheong Wa Dae, vowed Tuesday to be respectful, but clearly displayed its resentment by indicating that the NEC's verdict on Roh's brush with the law may have stemmed from the nation's "underdeveloped political culture."

In addition, it indirectly criticized the election watchdog body, saying that South Korea remains backward in democracy and constitutionalism.

"President Roh is willing to respect the NEC's verdict. But the president can't completely give up his political rights so he will make sure that his future remarks will not run counter to the NEC ruling," said the statement read by presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-seon.

"The president is planning to seek the NEC's opinions before he delivers public remarks. The commission must not avoid its reply each time."

Paying attention to Cheong Wa Dae's cynical reaction, political watchers speculate that Roh may opt to file a complaint with the Constitutional Court.

"The president's freedom to make political expressions, as well as his political activities, should be guaranteed. In advanced countries, it is a universal principle to guarantee the head of state freedom of political activities," a presidential aide said, refusing to rule out filing a constitutional petition.

SEOUL, June 19 (Yonhap News)

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