Former vs. incumbent

Learning from rival saves trials and errors

Scores of thousands of Koreans braved ceaseless rain throughout the weekend to commemorate the first anniversary of former President Roh Moo-hyun's death.

Much of the memorial fervor probably resulted from personal sympathy for the folksy, open-hearted ex-president, especially his tragic end. Not a small part of it, however, seemed to reflect the people's discontent with the incumbent President Lee Myung-bak, a natural reaction to the two comparable types of leaders.

Actually, the two presidents could be as different as any successive pair of chief executives. By personal disposition, the deceased leader was an idealist who stuck to his principles despite political losses, while his successor is a realist who cherishes pragmatic values most, at least according to how President Lee describes himself.

Little wonder that the first principle President Lee seemed to choose upon taking office was ``ABR (anything-but-Roh)."

Now appears the right time then to compare the major policies of the two presidents, now that Lee is almost halfway through his term in office, and, more importantly, the upcoming local elections are increasingly resembling a duel between the followers of the former against the incumbent leader.

Few, even his political opponents, deny Roh greatly contributed to the development of Korea's democracy by removing authoritarian remnants and easing regional animosity, making the country more equal and harmonious. The lack of communication between the governing and the governed amid one-sided governance has long emerged as the biggest problem in this administration, which even the ruling elite acknowledges and shows little sign of changing.

The critical mistake of the former ``participatory government" was excessive and/or reckless participation by all kinds of groups beyond manageable levels and the political amateurism of Roh himself, which removed not just authoritarianism but authority itself from the government. It is up to voters, however, to decide between too much freedom and not enough of it.

The economy was the biggest reason for the change of government, as the nation's GDP growth rate under Roh's tenure hovered below the global average while the income gap between the rich and poor even widened. Now, Korea under the CEO President is doing better than most major economies as far as the growth rate is concerned. The problem is most of the working class people have yet to feel its fruits, as the neo-liberalistic economic policy, which Roh half-heartedly followed, is now in full swing here even running counter to global trends.

Government officials blamed the previous two liberal administrations for the weakened defense posture in the wake of the sinking of the battleship Cheonan on March 26. But it was the Lee administration that slashed defense spending for the first time in a few decades while ratcheting up tension on this divided peninsula. One was pursuing reconciliation while not letting up its guard, while the other sought confrontation without the corresponding preparation.

This is why the governing camp's possible attempt to use scare tactics on national security for election purposes is destined to backfire. The government might feel the comparison unfairly harsh on it, but that much should be the handicap of the incumbent.