By Sah Dong-seok
Deputy Managing Editor
In retrospect, he should have embraced his adversaries upon being elected. But he didn't. Rather, he first visited a newspaper company that had been friendly to him. His failure to show tolerance to enemies might have promised his failure from the outset.
More than anything else, he ― none other than former President Roh Moo-hyun ― split up the nation, pitting haves against have-nots, conservatives against progressives, metropolitan areas against non-metropolitan areas, big business against small business and elderly against youngsters, out of his shallow calculation that the absolute majority of people would stand behind him.
The biggest fiasco during his five-year tenure was to take advantage of taxes to tame those who he disliked. As house prices soared amid loose monetary control, his loyal staff came up with a punitive tax formula targeting the so-called bubble seven districts in Seoul and its surrounding metropolitan areas. He was highly confident because only 2 percent of the people were subject to the draconian property tax. Public opinion was also on his side in general because 98 percent had little to do with the taxation.
From the moment the tax scheme was made public, opposition was fierce amid clamors that the ``comprehensive real estate tax'' would be in violation of the nation's broad taxation principles. The tax bill was approved as a tranche of numerous bills during the busy year-end session of the National Assembly. However, the populist tax bomb was hardly effective in containing the real estate price hike and just ended up dividing the people. Even after the tax law took effect, house prices continued to soar and calm was only restored after the government imposed constraints on bank loans.
Last week, the Constitutional Court ruled the property tax virtually null and void, saying the relevant law was discriminatory against and adverse to married couples, compared to singles, and violates the property rights of single-home owners. With the ruling, Roh's plot to levy the tax under the principle of wealth distribution aimed at placating the poor almost evaporated.
Real estate was just one example of Roh's many divisive policies. People were poles apart on many items on his national agenda such as education, foreign policy, business regulations and so on. Upon taking office as president, he bolted from the party that had made him president, along with so-called reform-minded politicians, declaring an end to regionalism that had lurked in Korean politics for decades.
Yet his bold but naive action failed to ease regional strife and merely prompted his own political base to weaken. He also showed the utmost arrogance, distancing himself from the people and standing at the center of political infighting. During his rule, breakups were routine while integration was remote. The electorate gave a final judgment to what he had done while in office by electing Lee Myung-bak as his successor in a landslide.
Earlier this month, South Koreans looked at the U.S. elections enviously, lamenting the reality of their home country torn by partisan politics. In his first speech in Chicago after the election victory, Barack Obama said, ``In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.''
He stressed politics of integration and reconciliation, saying ``As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.''
Of course, all Korean presidents emphasize integration and reconciliation when they begin their terms but these promises fizzle out in an escalation of conflict and clash. President Lee Myung-bak was no exception. He also voiced national integration during his inaugural speech in February this year but his initial resolve is now nowhere to be found. Rather, a series of policy blunders committed by his administration right after the beginning of his term has torn the nation down, let alone his governing party. Lee's incompetence in integration was shown vividly in his failure to embrace intra-party foes and the candlelit vigils that erupted in protest against the new government's poor handling of a beef import agreement with the U.S.
The worst financial crisis in a century, as Obama said, is about to swallow South Korea. The severity of the economic downturn will be felt more harshly next year, raising the need for the unusual leadership of integration as seen in the case of Hillary Clinton being touted as a candidate for Obama's secretary of state. But it might be too much to expect our president to be different this time, given his track record so far.