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By Andy Jackson
While this should be a time of quiet reflection and grieving for the Korean people, it is quickly becoming a political circus. Perhaps that is a fitting end for a public official who has had as tumultuous a political career as Roh Moo-hyun.
While some prosecutors may have been overly zealous in their pursuit of the truth behind the allegations against Roh and his family, one also gets the sense that there was also a great deal of trepidation in the prosecution office.
Prosecutors normally move to indict a suspect quickly, but a month had passed by while prosecutors continued their investigation.
Their hesitation is certainly understandable. It would have almost certainly cost them their careers if they had indicted a former president without evidence of his guilt well beyond a reasonable doubt.
Ironically, that hesitation to take the case to the next level may have been a factor in Roh's suicide. An indictment would have given him a chance to get his mind busy working on preparing a defense.
As it was, all he could do was wait and wonder when the indictment would come and what the final charges would be. The strain of not knowing may have been too much.
Fighting Over Roh's Body
While details are still being worked out between the government and Roh's family, it has been decided that he will have an official, but not a state, funeral after seven days of official mourning. In light of events going on in Roh's home village, the funeral arrangements were a gracious gesture on the part of the family.
We still do not know if President Lee Myung-bak will go to Roh's hometown of Bongha to honor him. While Lee has professed his belief that he has a duty to pay his respects to the former President, some aids fear that tensions there are too high.
Events over the weekend justify those concerns as some of Roh's supporters who have flocked to Bongha appear to have appointed themselves guardians of his body.
Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and officials of the governing Grand National Party (GNP), coming to pay their respects, were turned back. Liberty Forward Party leader Lee Hoi-chang, who ran against Roh for president in the 2002 election, was greeted with a volley of eggs when he arrived to pay his respects.
Progressive legislator Chung Dong-young, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate in 2007, was reportedly also prevented from paying his respects near Roh's body. Chung had publicly broken with Roh in the run-up to the election.
Waving the Bloody Shirt
While the GNP is trying to keep the political ramifications of the suicide as low-key as possible, the Democrats have already started firing salvoes.
The GNP hopes that the prevailing public emotion will be sadness, something that all Koreans, even Roh's most ardent detractors, can share. GNP Chairman Park Hee-tae said, ``The news is so sad and shocking." The party also released a statement saying, ``We feel so sad about the fact of the former President's sudden death."
However, the Democratic Party is having none of that and appears to be in a fighting mood. The Democrats spokesman Kim Yu-jeong told reporters, ``The people and history know what made the former President do something so tragic."
Progressive protestors and police in Seoul have already begun fighting around makeshift shrines to the former President. Protestors have also begun carrying a banner advocating the end of the ``bloodthirsty Lee Myung-bak regime."
However, the fighting mood is not universally shared among the Democrats and there is hope that the parties can make conciliatory gestures and maintain a truce at least until Roh is buried on Friday.
Where to Go From Here
Prosecution officials have suspended their investigation into Roh and may stop their investigation altogether.
However, if disagreements over whether or not the prosecutor's investigation into Roh's alleged acceptance of bribes leads to massive street protests and political instability, the government may have no choice but to reopen the case in order to find out the facts of the matter.
Rather than leaving it up to the prosecution to investigate further, a bipartisan commission could be appointed to establish the facts in the case with a narrow focus on the guilt or innocence of Roh and his family.
That would not be a perfect solution since the temptation for political grandstanding would likely prove to be too strong to resist. However, with Roh's death possibly leaving the political system in a crisis, there may be no other choice.
In any case, it would probably be best for all involved that President Lee grant an amnesty to Roh's family.
In the meantime, Lee should go to Bongha and Democratic Party leaders should make a point of accompanying him. There are large policy differences between the parties that cannot and should not be glossed over, but both sides have a responsibility not to allow Roh's death deepen cleavages in Korea's society and public life.
Andy Jackson has taught courses on American government and has been writing on Korean politics and other issues for four years. He can be reached at andyinrok@lycos.com.
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