386 Generation Politicians Make Comeback
By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Some politicians in their 40s, who played important roles during the previous Roh Moo-hyun government, are now holding senior posts in the main opposition Democratic Party (DP).
They are former lawmaker Kim Min-seok, 44; Ahn Hee-jung, 43, a close confidant of Roh; and three-term legislator Song Young-gil, 45. All were elected members of the party's decision-making Supreme Council Sunday.
They are part of the so-called 386 generation, which refers to people who were in their 30s in the 1990s, entered university in the 1980s and were born in the 1960s.
Most of the ``386 generation'' politicians, who experienced the democratization movements, had to stop their political careers following Roh's rock-bottom popularity.
Kim and Ahn failed to win a ticket of the then pro-government party to run in the April 9 elections to pick 299 lawmakers.
In the party's national convention, however, they made a successful comeback. The three were elected Supreme Council members along with two others ― Kim Jin-pyo, 61, and Park Joo-sun, 59.
Of the five, Song received the largest support, 16.1 percent of 9,540 votes cast and Kim Min-seok placed second with 15.5 percent. Ahn ranked fourth with 12.8 percent.
Political analysts speculated it would be difficult for Kim to return to politics since he was labeled as a ``betrayer.''
In the 2002 presidential election, he supported Roh but just one day before voting day, he walked into the camp of Roh's rival Chung Mong-joon.
He was also convicted of violating Election Law after receiving illicit funds of 200 million won from a local conglomerate while running for the Seoul mayoral election in 2002.
Ahn was also put behind bars for receiving illegal funds while helping with Roh's campaign.
According to party sources, senior party officials, including party Chairman Chung Sye-kyun and his predecessor Sohn Hak-kyu, helped them to make a successful comeback into the political arena.