Roh needs to talk to those opposed to FTA
The Hankyoreh, Seoul
Roh needs to talk to those opposed to FTA
By Park Chan-su, Editor/Politics
9 April 2007
President Roh Moo-hyun’s popularity has shot up recently. From surveys done by Korean media from The Hankyoreh to the Chosun Ilbo, every poll says his approval rating has surpassed 30 percent. It is not easy for a president to have his approval rise towards the end of his term, so the cause for all of this can be attributed to the recently inked FTA with the United States.
Few will envy a president receiving increased support at the end of his term when he is not going to run again. It is good enough if he is able to use that approval to manage end-term government affairs in a stable manner. You can understand how he put off formally proposing his desired revision to the constitution that would allow presidents two four-year terms, in order to enjoy the friendly atmosphere a little longer - even though it’s a little awkward to have him postpone the date he’d promised to propose constitutional revision the day the FTA draft was signed. This is especially embarrassing in light of how he had earlier pushed forward with revision while invoking "historical obligation," despite opposition from most of the country.
There is something that needs to be remembered despite the fact that 60 percent of the country supports the FTA and amidst the massive outpouring of conservative support for Roh’s leadership. The success of Roh’s government depends not on that 60 percent, but on how persuasive he is with the 30 to 40 percent who are opposed. Skyrocketing approval does not a successful government make. One example of this can be found in the American public’s support for U.S.. president George W. Bush. Immediately after the U.S. invaded Iraq in Spring 2003, he had close to 90 percent approval. Later, the American people coldly reassessed policy on Iraq and Bush’s approval shrank by half. Roh could find himself on a bigger roller coaster than Bush once the negotiated FTA text is disclosed and the Korean people get a good look at the details.
Looking at the Blue House right now, you don’t see any signs of concern about what might be ahead. "I cannot agree with the claim the FTA will lead to increased socioeconomic disparity," said Roh. "Every time I meet someone opposed to it, I ask them what areas other than agriculture and pharmaceuticals are going to be in difficult times and see unemployment, but no one has been able to give me a clear answer. So it’s frustrating to have people just go on with vague talk about how socioeconomic disparity is going to get worse without showing me any evidential basis for that."
It’s the people outside who feel frustrated. Has the president ever heard what people at anti-FTA protests have to say firsthand? Democratic Labor Party chairman Moon Sung-hyun has been on a hunger strike in front of the presidential office for 26 days now. Has Roh ever gone and asked him why he’s worried about exacerbated socioeconomic disparity?
Most of the people opposed to the FTA are probably people who supported Roh in the presidential election of four years ago. It would not be desirable for him to determine and execute policy purely out of consideration for those supporters. Still, the situation is not something that can be glossed over with praises from the conservative camp about "fine leadership that goes beyond the narrow interests of his supporters." Roh has at the very least a responsibility to listen to the views of those who supported him and try to persuade him. Trust has to exist between voters and political leaders if representative democracy is to be alive and well.
For starters, I would like to recommend the president meet with DLP chairman Moon Sung-hyun, who has long been calling for him to join in a debate over the FTA. The DLP is a small party, but it speaks with a clearer voice than other parties when it comes to this issue. Early in his term, the president met with prosecutors with reservations about prosecutorial reform and essentially asked them if they wanted an open fight, so there’s no reason why he should have reservations about meeting people involved in the anti-FTA protests. Roh’s government has always been accused of failing to have good communication with the people. It is an illusion for him to be thinking he has succeeded at communication with conservatives through the free trade agreement. It is the farmers and common people off on the other side of this with whom he needs to be having real communication.
