Copyright 1995 South China Morning Post Ltd. South China Morning Post
December 4, 1995
SECTION: Analysis; Pg. 11
LENGTH: 947 words
HEADLINE: Kim gambles future for break with the past
BYLINE: From ANDREW STORMONT in Seoul
BODY:
KOREANS have been glued to their TV sets, watching unprecedented footage of two former presidents being bundled off to jail accused of crimes most thought would go unpunished.
While the nation was still reeling from the disclosure of Roh Tae-woo’s multi -million dollar slush fund, President Kim Young-sam unleashed another bombshell: to investigate and arrest ex-military strongman and former president Chun Doo-Hwan, on charges of mutiny and ordering the bloody suppression of a civilian revolt in Kwangju in 1980.
Like most political controversies in Korea, opinion is divided between government and opposition groups over the timing of the President’s dramatic announcement and the arrest of Chun.
Sources in the Government claim the earlier arrest of Roh has created a climate whereby President Kim can now purge Korea’s political elite of those suspected of involvement in crimes committed under previous military governments.
They say this will enable the President to once and for all cut the ties with the military-backed establishment that has reigned over Korean political life until Mr Kim’s election in 1991.
Not everyone agrees with this scenario. One politician closely linked to opposition leader Kim Dae-jung pointed out that it was exactly these forces which propelled Mr Kim into the presidency.
In the late 1980s, Mr Kim Young-sam and his supporters merged with the Democratic Justice Party, a party set up by Chun in an attempt to legitimise his 1979 coup d’etat. The party was renamed the Democratic Liberal Party and, with Mr Kim Young-sam at its head, went on to win the 1991 presidential election.
“He is behaving just like any authoritarian president,” said the opposition politician. “He dragged his feet over prosecuting those involved in the Kwangju massacre until forced by the public outcry to act.”
Now with pressure on President Kim mounting to disclose how much money he accepted for his campaign, he has played the Kwangju card to divert attention from the slush fund scandal, said one academic.
President Kim had repeatedly said the Kwangju massacre should be left to the judgment of history.
What is certain is that President Kim’s offensive against Roh and Chun has effectively cut him off from the traditional conservative power-base in the Government - known for its pro-military, pro-business stance.
This has surprised some analysts who point out vital National Assembly elections are due next year. But President Kim may be hoping to attract more progressive forces in the party to his side, and more crucially, relying on the fact that conservative hardliners will baulk at throwing their lot in with Mr Kim Dae-jung.
Mr Kim Young-sam has taken a big political gamble. If he can keep himself from being tainted by the slush fund scandal, he will have forced long-time rival Mr Kim Dae-jung, who admits taking campaign money from Roh, on to the sidelines.
In addition, a successful prosecution of those involved in the 1979 coup and the Kwangju massacre will enable the President to isolate the old guard politicians in the Democratic Liberal Party with links to past authoritarian regimes.
Few believe Chun will go down without a fight. If, as his supporters claim, Chun can prove underhand deals agreed when the President merged his party with the Democratic Justice Party, and Roh breaks his silence over alleged campaign contributions, President Kim might find that he has overplayed his hand.
GRAPHIC: (Photo: Agence France Presse); Prison guard . . . riot police guard the entrance to the Anyang prison after families of political prisoners protesting outside mobbed a black sedan carrying former president Chun Doo-hwan to jail.