South Korean Politics and Elections

Who is Lee Myung-bak?

Korea Times, October 31, 2007

By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter

The official campaign poster of Grand National Party (GNP) presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak reads: ``I wish you make all the success in the world.''

The man in a black formal suit in the poster, Lee, is widely viewed as the personification of the Korean dream, having led an extraordinary career from child worker to high-flying business executive.

While at Hyundai Engineering and Construction in 1965, he achieved legendary status through his impressive rise from an entry-level employee to a business leader over 27 years.

The late business tycoon Chung Ju-yung was to a large extent responsible for getting Lee's career on track.

Chung, founder of Hyundai Group, handpicked Lee at a job interview in 1965.

Lee joined the National Assembly in 1992 as a lawmaker with the then ruling New Korea Party under the leadership of former President Kim Young-sam.

He recalled in his book published in 2002 that he decided to accept the offer from the former president because he wanted to transplant his highly successful career in the private sector into the political arena.

However, his plan did not go the way he intended.

Lee's 15-year political career was as eventful as his poverty-stricken childhood years.

``A lot of inefficient practices were in full swing in politics,'' he recalled, adding that the culture of debate had been lost.

Political reality then was all about three factors _ money, successful networking with influential political leaders, and currying favor with them. Those lacking these qualities seem to have little chance to survive, he said.

Rep. Lee was reelected in Jongro, Seoul, in the 1996 National Assembly elections.

Two years later, however, one of his former aides turned whistle-blower after witnessing Election Law violations in his campaigning.

Lee quit his Assembly position in 1998.

He returned to politics as mayor of Seoul through the 2002 local elections.

During the campaign season, he pledged to restore the urban slum of Cheonggyecheon into a beautiful urban park.

Lee pushed through the demanding plan during the first two years of his term and finally presented a gorgeous waterway to residents of the capital city.

With the urban beautification project, his name went global when Time Magazine covered his story in 2005.

This year, Lee was named as one of the Heroes of the Environment by the magazine alongside other global figures.

His result-driven and growth-oriented mentality has caused him to be a target of his political opponents.

They call him a pro-business candidate who has little compassion for working-class families.

Born in Osaka, Japan, Lee turns 66 on the Dec. 19 election day.

He was raised in Pohang City, North Gyeongsang Province, and used to sell a variety of street foods with his late mother when he was a child.

He has four adult children _ three daughters and one son _ with his wife Kim Yoon-ok.

hkang@koreatimes.co.kr

Pragmatist Embraces Diversity

Korea Times, October 31, 2007

By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter

A pragmatist point of view is distinctive in Grand National Party (GNP) presidential nominee Lee Myung-bak's policy visions for education, diplomacy, the economy, and society.

Lee said the government will be faced with the need for effective policy responses to the number of foreign residents in Korea in the near future as the population will continue to grow.

In an interview with The Korea Times to mark the newspaper's 57th anniversary Saturday, the former mayor of Seoul said he would embrace diversity in his policies as the current policy vacuum could lead the nation to face a social problems in near future.

Lee said that the growth of the foreign population in the country is a combined result of workforce shortages in the manufacturing sector, the low birth rate and ageing society.

Korea saw a rapid growth in ethnic minority groups and their families over the past 15 years.

The increase of mixed race families in the country was caused by two major factors _ an increase of interracial marriages in rural areas and an influx of foreign workers in the manufacturing sector over the past decade.

According to the Korea International Labor Foundation (KILF), the number of foreign workers in Korea reached 162,193 in May 2007.

A KILF official told The Korea Times that about half of them (83,583) are involved in the manufacturing sector.

KILF research found that 1 out of 10 newly married couples in agricultural areas were interracial marriages.

It noted that 41 percent of the male population engaged in the agriculture and fishery industry married foreign females in 2006, up 5.1 percent from the previous year.

``The mixed race families are facing many challenges in rearing their children mainly because of a lack of tailored educational services and support policies,'' Lee said.

If these children are left behind in class as a result of the policy vacuum, the government will be faced with new social problems in the future, he said.

Lee pledged that he would establish divisions both in central and local governments to provide support services for children from these families.

Strong Public Education

In his vision for education, Lee said that the collapse of public education has resulted in soaring private education fees and only wealthy families can afford to meet the cost of surging private education.

``The consequence is that only children from the upper-class can benefit from quality tutoring programs,'' Lee said.

He pledged to build boarding high schools in rural areas so that children from lower income families can also get quality secondary school programs.

``Smart children from low-income families will not be left behind and instead they will be provided with an equal opportunity to attend top universities,'' he said.

Lee said that the significance of English skill is ever more important than before in an era of globalization.

He made the point that a difference in English skills could result in income disparity.

``I will strengthen public education so that every Korean can freely communicate with foreigners in English,'' he said.

Lee said he will put an English-friendly atmosphere in place in this country to help citizens practice and command English without difficulty.

``I am planning to introduce English-only classes in school by training English teachers to have a high level of speaking skills. I also plan to expand the English-only classes into other classes in upper grades of elementary schools,'' he said.

He pledged to tackle deepening social polarization because it could generate a vicious circle of poverty unless no precautionary measures were taken.

His social policy took a different path from his rival Chung Dong-young of the United New Democratic Party (UNDP): Lee plans to link welfare to work.

In-land Waterway Project

GNP strategists made it clear that they will include the contentious cross-country waterway project into Lee's presidential campaign vision that will be unveiled in a few days.

The waterway project is Lee's flagship pledge.

The pan-Korea waterway has caused him trouble as economists and environmentalists have raised questions as to whether the nation-wide development plan is feasible.

Economists point out that the massive land use plan goes against the ethos of a small government, while environmentalists make the point that building dams could destroy the ecosystem of neighboring areas to the waterway.

Despite the criticism, Lee has stood firm and has showed no sign of withdrawing his project so far.

Instead, he made a case against the criticism saying that foreign direct investment (FDI) will be attracted to the project and therefore it will not create a fiscal burden.

Lee also said that a green waterway project will improve water quality and the ecosystem.

``The pan-Korea waterway project is one that must be implemented in the next government to move the economy forward, no matter who takes power,'' he said.

Lee asked, ``Do you remember the late President Park Chung-hee was under attack as a sharp pros and cons debate was underway over the Seoul-Busan highway project when he proposed the land use plan?''

``It turned out that the highway has enabled the economy to see rapid economic growth over the last three decades by immensely reducing logistics costs,'' he said.

The presidential candidate said several times that the waterway plan will allow the economy to join advanced ones in the future.

Pro-Business Economic Vision

The presidential nominee is an advocate of tax-cuts and trusts in the power of growth to affect all of society.

``Transparency in taxation is one of the primary goals that I would like to achieve during my tenure, if elected president. I will cut corporate and income taxes to help businesses create more jobs,'' he said.

Economists have made the point that empirical studies found that upper class families tend to benefit more from tax cuts than lower class ones.

Lee said his plan for tax cuts is designed for lower income families

``I am planning to expand tax deductions for education and medical insurance fees for working class citizens. And I will also adjust tax rates on gasoline and real estate,'' he said.

According to Lee, once transparency is in place in the tax system, businesses are highly likely to prosper and the lower income families will pay less tax.

These positive results will help make the economy prosper, he said.

He was skeptical about giving positive comments about the legacy of President Roh Moo-hyun, saying the administration has been ineffective as it failed to achieve high economic growth over its term when the global economic outlook was pretty good.

He said the government's redistribution policy was also questionable, too.

``The President said his government will work for working class families. But ironically these families' lives have been worsened since he took power in 2002 and as a result social polarization has deepened during his rule,'' he said.

The former mayor of Seoul said that the self-proclaimed pro-working class Roh administration has undermined social integration during its tenure.

Real estate policy failed under the incumbent government and the national debt hit a record high.

The consequence of the mismanagement of the nation's economy has increased household burdens by increasing taxes.

According to Lee, the youth unemployment rate hit 8 percent, and the combined effect of deepened social polarization, low birth rate and ageing society held back the economy.

``Growth is the key to resolve all these problems. Prosperity will create jobs and help the government expand its social safety net. Growth will also help the nation achieve reunification, '' he said.

Lee was dismissive regarding the skepticism that achieving 7 percent of annual economic growth is unfeasible. He said that his three-point pledge of 7 percent of annual economic growth, $ 40,000 of per capita income and the seventh largest economy in the world is not a rosy plan as his opponents have said.

Foreign Policy

Lee said that he will place a priority on foreign policy in balancing the national interest with the economy.

Previously, he said that pragmatism is a core goal in his vision for foreign policy and diplomacy, meaning that building diplomatic relations with other countries should be based on mutual interest and economic benefits.

Lee supported the troop deployment extension in Iraq because, he believes, it will help build solid bilateral relations with the oil-rich country.

He pledged he will bolster the Korea-U.S. alliance if elected president and the goal of strengthening relations with the U.S. is to make the economy better off.

``The bilateral relationship has played a pivotal role in maintaining a stable security environment on the Korean peninsula over the last five decades. And I believe the alliance will continue to play such a critical role in the future,'' he said.

Lee said, he will seek a future-oriented alliance with the U.S. that will serve the best interest of the two countries in the forthcoming decades.

``If the Korean economy grows further and becomes the seventh largest economy in the world as I envisioned, this country should find an alternative diplomacy model that stresses the greater role of Korea in the international community.''

He observed that the government should expand ties with the neighboring countries of China, Japan and Russia.

hkang@koreatimes.co.kr

Independent Launches Party

Korea Times, October 30, 2007

By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter

Independent presidential candidate Moon Kook-hyun launched the tentatively named Creative Korea Party (CKP), Tuesday, with about 300 party members and delegates in Yeouido, Seoul.

Moon, the former CEO of staple product maker Yuhan-Kimberly, will serve as a co-chairman of the party with Lee Jeong-ja, the chairman of the Green Purchasing Network, which promotes eco-friendly buying, and Lee Yong-kyung, the former CEO of telecommunication service provider KT.

The party is scheduled to hold a national convention on Nov. 4 to pick its presidential candidate and Moon is expected to win the party's ticket to run in the Dec. 19 election.

The party will give people in various walks of life including businessmen and scholars a chance to join it, party officials said.

It vowed to include the consolidation of social solidarity, the curbing of property speculation and the easing of polarization in its party charter.

It will also seek sustainable development, life-long education systems and economic cooperation in Northeast Asia.

Moon said his party has set the goal of winning 50 percent of the National Assembly seats in elections next year.

Election experts speculate that Moon, through the new party, is aiming at creating an advantage over having a unified presidential candidate with the United New Democratic Party or the Democratic Party, to compete against Lee Myung-bak of the Grand National Party.

However, it remains uncertain whether Moon has reached an agreement on having a unified candidate.

``More than 60 percent of Moon's supporters prefer him to run for the presidential election on his own,'' an aide said.

Moon is considered a promising independent runner due to his reformative and clean image but his approval support hovers around five percent in most surveys.

On the other hand, Lee Myung-bak enjoys support of more than 50 percent followed by UNDP nominee Chung Dong-young with 20 percent.

ksy@koreatimes.co.kr

Koreans More Volatile Than Americans in Political Orientation

Korea Times, October 30, 2007

By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter

Korean voters have been found to be more apt to change their political orientations than American voters, according to survey results in both countries.

A Yeoido Institute (YDI) poll, conducted early this year, indicated that there is a meaningful shift in voters' political philosophy over the last decade: The ratio of middle-of-the-road voters has increased by 14.6 percentage points since 1997. The institute is a think tank of the conservative Grand National Party.

The survey found that 36.9 percent of the respondents are moderates, 30.3 percent conservatives and 27.1 percent liberals.

Yeoido pollsters asked the question: ``How would you describe your own political philosophy: conservative, moderate or liberal?'' to respondents in two separate surveys conducted in 1997 and 2007.
The institute conducted its first survey in 1997 and the results showed that moderates accounted for 22.3 percent of the total, conservatives 41.5 percent and liberals 36.2 percent.

The past decade saw 14.6 percent of once-liberals and conservatives move toward the center to moderate voters.

The trend is dramatic, given that the ratio of moderates in America remained virtually unchanged during the past 35 years.

The Harris Poll found the ratio of American moderates has not changed over four decades.

Harris pollsters asked the same question as the YDI pollsters to their respondents and the survey was conducted every decade since the 1970s.

Results showed that moderates account for about 40 percent during the same period.

Asked what has caused Koreans to be more inclined to change in self-assessment of their political ideology than their American counterparts, Prof. Lee Hyeon-woo of the Political Science Department of Sogang University in Seoul told The Korea Times of two possible explanations.

Lee said that a shift by 14.6 percent of the population toward a moderate voters' group could be a reflection of the sudden social transformation over the past decade, which largely affected the political orientations of Koreans.

The Asian financial crisis hit the nation in late 1997 and the negative fallout of the regional economic malaise has lingered on the following years.

Youth unemployment soared dramatically and job security was threatened. A variety of unstable job types such as part-time jobs and short-term contracts began replacing the traditional life-long, permanent positions.

A recent Hankook Ilbo poll found that 52.8 percent of Koreans perceived that the financial crisis had dealt the most fatal blow to Korean society over the last two decades.

These respondents said that they recognize that the pro-democracy movement in 1987 is the second most significant event that has occurred in the country for the last 20 years.

About 10.9 percent of the respondents said the pro-democracy movement mostly dealt a blow to society.

The same survey also found that the ratio of Koreans who said their living standard has improved since the financial crisis is almost the same to that of respondents who said it has been undermined.

Some 57.5 percent of the respondents said the quality of life has improved since 1987, while 20.8 percent said it has worsened.

However, those who said their quality of life has been better since the financial crisis in 1997 accounted for merely 35 percent, and the figure is almost the same as those that feel it has worsened (32.1 percent).

Political scientist Lee indicated that the intense social transformation that followed the 1997 crisis could have greatly influenced Koreans' belief system.

``Another possibility still holds true,'' the professor said. ``Many Koreans tend to have misconceptions about their political philosophy and it is a result of misleading criteria.''

According to Lee, people's stance on North Korea and human rights are the two major criteria that can distinguish the conservatives from the liberals.

``There are no other policy areas that could discern conservative from liberals in the country,'' Lee stressed.

Many opinion polls still use five major policy areas _ stance on North Korea, economy, social policy, environmentalism and globalization and human rights issues _ to measure voters' political ideology.

Therefore, he indicated, Koreans' self-categorization of conservatives, liberals and moderates could be different from what they really are.

Misconception could have led them to misdiagnose their political orientation, he indicated.

``Mainly due to the possible misconception, academics in Korea are very careful when they use the term moderate voters,'' he added.

Power of Moderate Voters

Winning campaign strategies boil down to a simple formula: lock your traditional supporters into your campaign vision and work on moderates to win the election.

Indeed, those who are running for elective offices consider moderate voters as important for they believe that these voters will put them in the elective position that they are seeking.

Prof. Orit Kedar of the Political Science Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, U.S., said in an email interview with The Korea Times that the bulk of voters in many countries are moderates.

``They want policies in a certain direction either right or left, but not very far from the center, not extreme,'' she said.

Lee of Sogang University said these voters are more sensitive to ethical issues and presidential candidates' personal qualities than their extreme counterparts of liberals and conservatives.

He said, ``Extreme voters tend to have a strong sense of affiliation with their supporting parties and candidates. Therefore they tend not to withdraw their support easily for a particular party for minor reasons.''

Prof. Kedar pointed out in some races that political parties take a risk by leaving the center ``uncovered,'' because by doing so their rival party can absorb these voters.

In the 2000 U.S. presidential election, the political strategists working for Republican candidate George W. Bush coined the term ``compassionate conservatism'' as a core campaign strategy.

Prof. Kedar said, ``Mr. Bush was not a moderate in any way,'' but these strategists worked hard to portray Bush as a candidate who successfully embraced social values into his vision for the nation.

Kedar made the point that the campaign strategy designed to curry favor with moderate voters has both benefits and costs: Parties and candidates can get votes from these moderates by using the moderate voters-friendly campaign strategy.

At the same time, she said, the strategy could end up losing credibility by ``sneaking'' to the center.

The political scientist indicated that voters might conclude that a political party attempting to portray itself as a party for all classes could be perceived as the one that does not serve anyone's interest.

In her empirical research from 2005, Kedar found that these voters often tend to support the candidate whose positions are more extreme than their own.

Center-right voters tend to vote for a conservative party candidate, center-left for a liberal one.

``Voters are concerned with policy outcomes and hence incorporate the way institutions convert votes to policy into their choices,'' she said.

Kedar said policy is a result of multiparty bargaining and votes are therefore watered down by power-sharing in the government and the parliamentary system.

``Therefore, voters often compensate for this watering-down by supporting parties whose positions differ from their own,'' she said.

hkang@koreatimes.co.kr

Who Is Chung?

Korea Times, October 29, 2007

By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter

Presidential nominee Chung Dong-young of the United New Democratic Party (UNDP) began his political career in 1996 when he was elected to the 15th National Assembly.

He made headlines as he won the largest number of votes in an electoral district in the parliamentary elections.

In 2004, Chung became the youngest politician to lead a ruling party. He led the now-defunct governing Uri Party, the predecessor of the UNDP. Later, he also served as minister of unification.

Before entering politics, he worked as a reporter and anchor for the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, a local television network, between 1978 and 1995.

A journalist, Chung covered the May 18 pro-democracy movement in Gwangju in 1980, and reported on the Gulf War and German reunification while working as a correspondent in New York.

After entering Seoul National University in 1972, Chung participated in movements to protest former President Park Chung-hee's authoritarian rule, particularly Park's inception of the notorious Yushin (Revitalization) Constitution designed to prolong his dictatorial rule.

He was put behind bars twice for his involvement in those pro-democracy activities.

In 2000, he served as spokesman of the now-defunct New Millennium Democratic Party founded by former President Kim Dae-jung.

He helped Kim win the 1997 presidential election by giving him advice regarding television debates.

Chung also helped Roh Moo-hyun to win the presidential race in 2002.

After Roh was elected president, Chung joined hands with him and others to establish the Uri Party in November 2003. He served as Uri chairman twice _ in 2004 and 2006.

The Uri Party, however, suffered from rock-bottom popularity.

Lawmakers started to desert the Uri Party and Chung also left it in June, claiming that internal conflicts over vested rights made the party perform poorly.

The Uri Party merged with a centrists' group, which largely consisted of deserters from the Uri Party and some from the minor opposition Democratic Party to launch the UNDP on Aug. 5.

While serving as minister of unification between 2004 and 2005, Chung visited North Korea several times and met North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on June 17, 2005.

He made contributions to the construction of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in the North, a flagship inter-Korean economic project.

Chung flew to Washington as soon as he assumed the post of unification minister and met U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, to persuade them to agree to the Gaeseong project, according to his aides.

He also helped start reunions of displaced families between the two Koreas for the first time in over a half-century since the 1950-53 Korean War.

ksy@koreatimes.co.kr

Lee Promises More Welfare Benefits

Korea Tmes, October 28, 2007

By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter

Presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) said Sunday that the nation needs to achieve economic growth that meets the demands of people and provides more welfare benefits.

He also promised to improve the welfare system.

``Despite the increased budget for welfare, the polarization gets worse. It is mainly attributable to the slow economy,'' Lee told reporters during his visit to a nursing home in Seoul. ``Welfare as well as redistribution can be possible when we achieve economic development.''

Lee, former Seoul mayor, promised that the state will take care of people's whole lives from birth to post-retirement.

He presented seven welfare projects to assist the young, middle-aged people and senior citizens.

The conservative party candidate promised to use more subsidies for married couples with infertility treatment, medical treatment for pregnant women and childbirth.

He added that he will financially support childrearing, education and living conditions for underprivileged families.

Lee vowed to reduce the burden on educational expenses and prepare more scholarship programs to help students facing financial problems.

He also said the youth will have more jobs through seven percent economic growth as his signature economic pledge presented.

More life-long educational and vocational programs will help the middle aged start the second phase of their lives, said Lee, 65, former CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction.

He also said that more medical subsidies will take the burden off those who have difficulties caring for senile parents.

More subsidies will be provided for people's welfare after retirement such as treatment for serious illness like cancer, he said.

Extending the retirement age will be helpful to offer the graying population more jobs, he added.

For disabled people, Lee vowed to provide more support by introducing pension and education programs specially designed for them.

ksy@koreatimes.co.kr

Roh to Work for Ecosystem Protection

Korea Times, October 28, 2007

By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter

President Roh Moo-hyun said Saturday that he will dedicate himself to ecosystem protection in rural areas including preserving wetlands after retiring from office next February.

Roh said he will go back to his hometown, Bongha village of Gimhae City in South Gyeongsang Province, ``as promised.''

His five-year term ends on Feb. 25. He is banned from seeking reelection under the Constitution.

``I'll be with you as a community volunteer next year,'' the President said in a ceremony marking the launch of local volunteer groups in the province, where the 2008 Ramsar Conference will take place from Oct. 28 to Nov. 4 next year.

The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands adopted in the Iranian coastal city of Ramsar in 1971.

Roh said he will make efforts to build a national center for wetlands protection and an ``East Asia Ramsar Center'' in the province.

Roh's reported post-retirement plans have stirred up controversy.

Reports said Roh's presidential security service has already purchased 36,459 sqare meters of land in the Bongha village to construct ``Roh Moo-hyun Town.'' Inje University in Gimhae is reportedly building a memorial hall for Roh.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr

For Korean Americans, Presidential Politics Begin at Home

New America Media, News Report, Kenneth Kim, Posted: Oct 23, 2007

Editor’s Note: Although they aren’t allowed to vote or contribute to campaigns, Korean Americans are doing everything they can to make a splash in South Korea’s upcoming presidential elections – from forming their own candidate groups to calling their relatives back home. Kenneth Kim is a writer and Korean media monitor for New America Media.

South Korea’s upcoming presidential elections may be thousands of miles away, but that hasn’t stopped Korean Americans from participating in presidential politics – even though they don’t have voting rights.

Korean American leaders who claim to be well-connected to Korean politicians are financing grassroots organizations in the United States to mobilize support for their candidates of choice.

Since they can’t vote in Korean elections, they came up with a different plan. Community groups will distribute pre-paid phone cards to Korean Americans, encouraging them to call and implore their relatives back home to vote for the candidates that Korean Americans support.

Activists are also preparing to wage battles in cyberspace. “We have already had over a thousand visitors to our Internet site in less than two weeks,” says Moo Han Bae, co-chair of the Committee to Support Myung Bak Lee, a presidential candidate.

According to the Web traffic data analyzing companies Traffic Estimate and Alexa, the site ilovembusa.com drew more than 7,400 visits in October, most of the users coming from United States.

Korean-language media in the United States is closely following presidential politics in their home country. For months, Korean television, radio and newspapers have provided comprehensive coverage of the race in Korea and the activities of U.S. Korean groups. In fact, as the Grand National Party (GNP) held a convention to elect its presidential candidate, the Korean newspapers in Los Angeles extended their publishing deadline for hours to report the results.

The Korean presidential election that has become the talk of the Korean American community will be held on Dec. 19. But the contenders are not as appealing to voters in Korea, observers say, because none of them is offering anything new, and the conservative party already has such a substantial lead.

Major candidates include Myung Bak Lee of the conservative Grand National Party (GNP), a former mayor of Seoul; Dong Young Chung of the liberal United New Democratic Party (UNDP), who is a TV-anchor-turned-politician; In Je Rhee of the Democratic Party (DP), who already has run twice and failed both times; and independent Kook Hyun Moon, a business executive who is in the process of creating his own political party.

Korean American activists consider their participation as crucial to helping guide their motherland in the right direction.

Citing a gloomy forecast of the South Korean economy and “social unrest,” supporters of Myung Bak Lee say they are obligated to save their native Korea from heading toward a disastrous end under the current left-leaning administration. According to them, a stable Korea is important for the security of the United States, their adopted country.

For Bong Soo Lee, vice president of the Advisory Council on Democratic and Peaceful Unification of Korea, Los Angeles Chapter, who is starting an organization to support Dong Young Chung, the UNDP’s presidential candidate, the election is about preserving democracy and personal relationships.

“It has been only a decade since democracy bloomed in South Korea, and Korea is still divided into two countries. We must continue what we have begun. To do that, we need to elect the right candidate,” says Lee, who met with candidate Chung ten years ago and has maintained a good relationship with him since.

Despite this enthusiasm, it is unclear whether the mobilization efforts by Korean Americans will make impact on the Korean presidential election. According to Korean law, Koreans who are naturalized citizens of the United States are ineligible to participate in Korean elections. Although foreigners who have lived in Korea for more than three years are allowed to vote, Korean law does not recognize dual citizenship and prohibits citizens of foreign countries to engage in Korean politics, making it impossible for Korean emigrants to either vote or run for a public office in Korea.

Asked about the legality of Korean Americans’ activities, Song replies, “As long as they don’t contribute to a presidential candidate’s campaign or hold a fundraising event for a candidate, activities focused on expressing their mere affection for politicians in their native country are seen as a customary gesture.”

A U.S. State Department spokesperson adds that no U.S. laws restrict American citizens from participating in foreign elections or making political contributions. However, like South Korea, the United States bans contributions and expenditure by foreign nationals in order to “minimize foreign intervention in U.S. elections.”

Although the effectiveness and legality of Korean American activism is questionable, Korean presidential candidates welcome the emigrant community’s support.

A campaign strategist who is working with a major presidential candidate in Seoul and asked not to be identified says that having a large support group outside of Korea, especially in the United States, is a huge plus for a candidate because voters perceive the support as the evidence of the candidate’s popularity overseas, thus improving his image as a global leader.

“Frankly speaking, the ultimate aim of having overseas support is drawing more attention from voters and news media in Korea, so that we can improve the candidate’s rating,” says the strategist.

In the United States, home to the largest population of Koreans outside of Korea, the fervor over the Korean presidential election is greeted with mixed feelings.

“The trend seems only natural because almost 80 percent of Korean immigrants are first-generation immigrants who feel a very strong tie to the native Korea,” says James S. Kim of the Korea Daily, a national U.S. Korean-language newspaper.

According to the most recent U.S. census data, of the 1,251,092 Koreans in the United States, only 24.2 percent are U.S.-born, lower than any other Asian group. Korean Americans’ average household income, which was $43,195 in 2004, is also the lowest among the Asian subgroups and lower than the national average.

Some attribute the Korean immigrant community’s fondness for Korean politics to barriers of language, culture and racism that the group faces.

“In U.S., I was nobody, but in Korean I’m a somebody,” says Yong Tae Lee, a medical doctor who immigrated to the United States when he was 12 and renounced his U.S. citizenship last year to participate in Korean politics. He has since been appointed Special Advisor on Overseas Affairs for the conservative Grand National Party.

However, citing Korean Americans’ lack of interest in U.S. politics, some express uneasiness over their enthusiasm for politics in their home country. Korean Americans are one of the least civically engaged Asian immigrant groups, according to the study “Asian Americans at the Ballot Box: The 2006 General Election in Los Angeles County” published by the Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California (APALC). Only 39 percent of Korean American registered voters in Los Angeles County voted in the 2006 general election, compared to 52 percent of all registered voters and 43 percent of all Asian American registered voters.

“It is great to see that Korean Americans are excited and engaged in politics; I just wish that level of enthusiasm and participation would transcend into local and federal elections,” says Grace Yoo, executive director of the Korean American Coalition in Los Angeles. “I am hopeful that as the language barriers decrease there will be greater participation and engagement by Korean Americans in American politics.”

Meanwhile, Korean Americans’ campaigns for candidates have become more intense.

Myung Bak Lee, the GNP candidate, maintains a strong hold as the front-runner and the most favored candidate. In a recent rally in Los Angeles’ Koreatown, Bae, co-chair of the Myung Bak Lee support group, addressed a crowd of hundreds of people. Bae explained the humble background of the candidate, known for his initials MB, and how he overcame difficulties and succeeded. Then he cried out, “Who is going to change Korea?”

Everyone shouted, ''MB!''

Former President Chun Directed Oppression of Buddhist Monks in 1980

Korea Times, October 25, 2007

By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter

Former President Chun Doo-hwan ordered a brutal crackdown on Buddhist monks in the early 1980s to remove the administrative head of the Korean Buddhist Jogye Order, who the Chun government considered a dissident, a government fact-finding panel reported Thursday.

Chun has denied he was involved in the case, dubbed the ``Oct. 27 incident.''

The committee at the Ministry of National Defense also revealed Chun's authoritarian government set the professional qualifications for journalists as part of efforts to take control of the country's media in the 1980s.

On Oct. 27, 1980, the Chun administration mobilized more than 3,200 police and soldiers to search 5,731 temples nationwide and arrested more than 150 monks, according to the report.

The panel said the Chun government had made a secret report on Ven. Wolju's ``corrupt activities'' before the massive crackdown. Head monks of large temples in the country were referred to in the classified report as ``gangs.''

Many of the arrested monks were tortured and forced to resign from their posts, the panel said. Wolju also was forced to step down.

Torture methods included beatings, water torture, electric shock and sleep deprivation, it said.

``It is a typical power abuse case aimed at oppressing a specific religious order,'' the panel said, adding the Korean government should apologize for the wrongdoings and compensate the Jogye Order for damages.

In 1988, Prime Minister Kang Young-hoon apologized for the incident, but it was made without a proper investigation into the case, the panel said.

Meanwhile, the report reconfirmed the Chun regime's considerable control and surveillance over the media.

News agencies were absorbed into a single agency, while numerous provincial newspapers were closed and newspapers in Seoul were forbidden to station correspondents in provincial cities, it said.

Two broadcasting companies were forced to be absorbed into the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS).

The Defense Security Command, and the Ministry of Culture and Information ordered hundreds of ``dissident journalists'' fired and banned from reporting or editing, the panel said.

The dismissed journalists were then categorized into several classes, and limitations were placed on their reinstatement in accordance with their ``wrongdoings,'' such as ``pro-North Korean activities, articles against government policies, irregularities, incompetence and negligence of duty,'' according to the committee.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr

'War-Ending Declaration Is Part of Peace Treaty'

Korea Times, Ocotber 24, 2007

By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter

Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Song Min-soon said Wednesday that the official end of the 1950-53 Korean War would require political, military and legal conditions to be met.

``We (the two Koreas) are technically at war, and in order to end the war and enter a state of peace, we need a process of ending it,'' Song told a press briefing.

He went on to say, ``The declaration of ending a war always comes at the first stage of peace treaties or other forms of agreement for normalizing relations. It comes out after discussion on how to maintain peace.''

The Korean War ended not with a peace treaty but a cease-fire agreement, which leaves the Korean Peninsula still in a state of war.

The minister stressed that declaring the start of negotiations for peace on the peninsula is a totally different concept from declaring the end of war.

``The declaration of the end of war would be part of peace treaty,'' Song said. ``There is a debate on who should make the declaration and when the declaration should be made, but those things are minor issues.''

President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il said the peace treaty should be signed by three or four heads of state during their summit early this month, but recently Roh said the parties concerned would be the two Koreas, the United States and China because China wants to join the process.

Regarding denuclearization of North Korea, Song said that North Korea had agreed to detailed steps to disable its nuclear facilities and that the disablement process is to start soon based on the agreement.

North Korea will receive economic aid and political concessions in return for disabling its nuclear complex in Yongbyon by the end of the year under the six-party talks' accord. The talks involved the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan.

Song added that the six nations will begin discussing multilateral security dialogue in Northeast Asia and a peace system on the Korean Peninsula, depending on the progress of denuclearization. Song said he shared agendas on this matter with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday.

Song also said in a separate speech that sending Korean troops to U.N. peacekeeping operations (PKO) is important for successful peacekeeping work in the world.

Speaking at the 62nd anniversary ceremony of U.N. Day in Seoul, Song said he is doing his best to help the National Assembly pass a bill to enable a rapid deployment of Korean troops for PKOs.
``Korea has participated in a total of 14 PKOs in the world,'' he said. ``We are now positioned to pay back what we have received from the United Nations and the international community in the past.''

Though he saw defects in the United Nations, he agreed the international organization has established international norms and resolved conflicts based on universal and moral principles.

yoonwonsup@koreatimes.co.kr