To achieve real democracy

Dear editor,

Regarding the April 20 editorial, ``Unfinished Revolution," I agree with your view that the real content of democracy in Korea has not yet been achieved. As a result, I have no doubt that we are obligated to do our best for the ideal democracy to settle down in this country.

As you mentioned, the following governments after the April 19 uprising have not made constant efforts to realize this ideal goal, especially President Lee and his administration.

It is excessively disappointing that he will dismiss public opinions as just ``populist politics" and implement policies against the will of the majority of people without sufficient time and effort to persuade them. We have witnessed him take this kind of position in many cases, from the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) to the four-river refurbishment project.

The Korean government and ordinary people, the so-called ``grassroots," cannot escape the blame for neglecting their responsibilities.

As shown in the dramatically and continuously decreasing voting rate for the presidential election, from 89.2 percent in 1987 to 62.9 percent in 2007, people are becoming indifferent to the politics of the country, which is a serious problem.

They just express their hatred of politics without any productive criticism and effort to solve problems. It is like a child's whining about his or her condition with no maturity or active attitude to make progress.

The April 19 Revolution was a remarkable historic social movement that all Koreans should be proud of. It is an unpardonable shame to make the noble actions of those who made sacrifices meaningless.

The revolution should be continued until real democracy is maximized in this country to the degree that we do not feel any shame for the great spirits of the revolution. It is all our duty, not just the government.

Song Ji-eun school teacher Gyeonggi Province ahtam@nate.com