A death that calls for political introspection

The death of former president of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Roh Moo-hyun on Saturday came as a shock not just to his earnest supporters, but to everyone in ROK. It was deeply saddening to know he jumped off a mountain cliff near his home in Gyeongsang province.

It is a no-brainer to guess why he chose to end his life. Roh, who had professed to be a principled man, presumably could not stand the humiliation he felt as he watched his moral high ground being chipped away by a criminal investigation into a corruption scandal allegedly involving him and his family. He said he did not take any money from businessman Park Yeon-cha, one of his staunch backers, while he was in office. Instead, he told prosecutors that his wife took the money and that he did not know it at the time.

Now, since he is dead there is no way to prove his innocence, and the prosecutors have ended their investigation for good. Nonetheless, people have expressed deep sympathy for Roh, who reportedly wrote in his suicide note: "Many have suffered too much because of me ... I cannot read or write ... Aren't life and death a piece of nature?"

There is no knowing how history will evaluate the performance of the human rights lawyer-turned politician. But despite his foibles, he contributed greatly to advancing politics in the ROK. First, he should be given due credit for devolving the power that was concentrated in the presidency, and often referred to as "imperial". He made good on his promise not to rely on powerful government agencies, such as the National Intelligence Service, the National Tax Service, the prosecutors' office and police to tighten his grip on power.

Unlike some of his predecessors, he did not seek any secret information on his political adversaries from intelligence agencies. Nor did he order a tax audit out of vengeance. Instead of attempting to bring prosecutors under his control, he maintained rather strained relations with them.

It would be fair to say that elections were made less costly because he and his party did not rely on chaebol (a form of ROK business conglomerate) as the main contributors to political funds. And institutional changes were made to lower electoral costs during his five-year presidency.

But Roh had some political drawbacks, too. For instance, he deserted the political party that elected him to the presidency and formed a new party with his supporters. He had his presidency suspended for two months after the National Assembly voted to impeach him for a minor breach of the election law. The Constitutional Court, however, overturned the verdict.

But despite his legacy, Roh became part of the tragic history of ROK presidents when he committed suicide. And that is what makes the tragedy doubly saddening. The ROK had seen eight presidents before him, with the first ending his life in exile. One was killed by his intelligence chief, two were forced out of office, two others sent to prison and a couple of them saw their sons being jailed for corruption.

What brought all this misfortune to them all and, finally to Roh? It cannot be a mere coincidence that all ROK presidents have suffered one type of tragedy or another during their presidency or after leaving office.

Even more disheartening is that tragedy continues in ROK politics, even though democracy replaced authoritarianism long ago. Does the ROK presidency have an inbuilt flaw? Does the adage, "power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely" has anything to do with it? If so, the country will have to make institutional improvements as soon as possible to solve the problem.

The Korean Herald/Asia News Network

(China Daily 05/27/2009 page9)