 Citizens watch breaking news on the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il at Seoul Station, Monday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
By Kim Rahn
Citizens were shocked and anxious on hearing about the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
Some worried about the possibility of war or military action, although they believed ― and hoped ― such events would not actually occur. Others were calm and rather indifferent, saying South Korea has been through a lot of emergency situations involving North Korea.
Cho Jin-hee, a 59-year-old housewife, said, “Kim Jong-un is still young and I’m worried how a power struggle will play out and whether it will affect South Korea. As a mother of a son, I’m also concerned over the possibility of war.”
She also expressed concern over South Korea’s intelligence capabilities. “If the government really didn’t know about the death for two days, it means its ability to collect intelligence is rather poor.”
A 37-year-old office worker, Kim Seong-sik, worried about the economy. “Stock prices plummeted today and it shows the uncertainty of the future between the two Koreas. As North-South relations have a huge influence on South’s international creditworthiness, we will have to make continuous efforts to improve the relationship with the new North Korean regime,” he said.
A Twitter user said, “I hope Kim didn’t die in a disorderly situation like a coup. Chaos can bring more chaos.”
Others didn’t seem overly perturbed by the news.
Park Hong-eun, a 29-year-old office worker, said, “I was surprised but the death will not have much influence on my daily life.”
A freelance illustrator, 32-year-old Chung Yun-joo, also said, “Some worry about a war. Kim Jong-un was not clearly designated as the successor, so there may be problems with a power struggle. But without anything fixed yet, the North Korean authorities are unlikely to fire a missile or launch any other attack against South Korea. We just need to wait and see.”
Civic groups generally remained calm over the issue, closely monitoring the situation.
The Korea Reunification Society of the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice said in a statement, “It is natural for the South Korean government to prepare for emergencies, but it needs to control the situation until a new North Korean leader is officially announced. We should avoid excessive alarm which may give an impression of threatening the North.”
The group added Kim’s death will bring huge changes in both domestic and international politics. “The government should not make use of this situation as a political tactic to divide public opinion. Its policy on North Korea will have to focus on maintaining exchanges and cooperation with the North for political stability and long-term preparations for unification.”
It also recommended the government express regret concerning Kim’s death as a matter of protocol.
The Association of North Korean Human Rights Organizations expects agitation among North Korean people.
“I think the succession from Kim Jong-il to Jong-un is stably occurring via the military. But I worry about people’s agitation. With the leader’s death as momentum, a ‘rush of defection’ may occur. The government should demand the Chinese government to protect North Korean defectors,” a member of the association said.
South Korea’s two umbrella unions said they are considering sending a telegram of condolence to their North Korean counterpart.
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