One GNP leader warned that the situation, if left unresolved, may well lead to "one-party tyranny by Our Open Party (Uri Party)." A majority of disenchanted voters, especially those in their 20s and 30s, are determined to use the elections as an opportunity to voice their dissatisfaction with the GNP/MDP decision to impeach Roh for a purported violation of the Elections Law and other alleged wrongdoing. Many will be "block voting" -- voting for a party -- without any judgment of respective qualifications with the benefactor being the Uri Party. Regionalism used to be a major factor in elections, but this election it is split over the impeachment issue.

House Speaker Park Kwan-yong said that he was saddened but had no regrets about tabling the impeachment motion against the president. "It is not that we impeached the president, but rather we followed an impeachment procedure," said Park. "The people need to carry on in their daily lives and wait for the final determination of the Constitutional Court. Any attempt to influence the court's decision is a threat to the constitutional order."

Rep. Park Geun-hye, 52, the daughter of the late President Park Chung-hee was selected as the new GNP leader on 22 Mar, hoping her election will help the troubled party regain public support ahead of next month's parliamentary elections. At present the GNP majority still feels the impeachment was correct even though there is a sense of the high possibility of defeat. The GNP position is that the decision will be made by the Constitutional Court -- with the GNP responsible for what they did.

(SITE NOTE: The Uri Party has been very muted since the impeachment. However, on Mar 24, the Uri Party made its first tactical blunder. When Park was first installed, the Uri Party was amicable and congratulatory, but the next day the fangs came out. On Park Geun-hye's first day on the job on 24 Mar, Uri Party officials fired a full broadside at the new GNP chairperson, calling her "the daughter of President Park Chung-hee, a military coup leader and key figure behind the Yushin Constitution" and "the daughter of a pro-Japanese lieutenant in Imperial Japan's Kwantung Army." Even among the reformists, Park Chung-hee is viewed as the person responsible for the miracle of the Han. Everyone knows he was a Japanese lieutenant, but so were many others. Their attack was foolish. She served as the first lady for the President after her mother was assassinated by North Korean guerillas attempting to take her father's life. We believe the Uri Party shot themselves in the foot by attacking her father. They should have concentrated on her performance...but they didn't. Like Roh, they stuck their foot in their mouths.

Both Park and her party refused to respond directly to the Uri Party's assaults; the chairperson instead quietly visited with senior religious figures at Catholic Myeongdong Cathedral, the Christian Yongnak church and performed 108 bows before the Buddha of Seoul's Jogye Temple. This was exactly the right move. Good PR was the story that Park was originally planning to do 3,000 bows, but was told to do only 108 by Jogye Temple's abbot, who kindly warned her, "A person who has much to do shouldn't overstrain his or herself." This made the Uri Party look rabid dogs -- and the worst thing was to look like they were afraid of Park -- which was exactly what the voting public saw. (SITE NOTE: Quickly some liberal media tried to call Park's actions a publicity stunt to drum up support, but it didn't really fly.)

Park closed the GNP's W40 billion party headquarters in Yeouido and began her duties as party head in a tent set up near Youido Park, in a space once used as an exhibit ground for medium and small-sized businesses. This fulfilled her campaign promise and the right move for the time -- even though it is only symbolic. At about the same time, the Uri Party has moved its headquarters to a warehouse in the middle of a wholesale fruit and vegetable market when it was found that illegal money had been used in part to purchase the building. Some people call the moves by both parties as "show politics" without substance. (SITE NOTE: Immediately following this Uri Party Rep. Park Yang-soo stated, the City refused to rent the land to the Uri Party. City officials said the Uri Party never made any request to use the land. "We never heard about it. Rep. Park may be lying," a city official anonymously stated fearing Prime Minister Goh's warning on public officials neutrality.)

Our respect for Park as a cagy politician grew by bounds on her first day in control. On 29 Mar a poll by the Donga Ilbo had an item asking if 'the election of Rep. Park Geun-hye as the new head of the GNP will make a contribution to party's gaining votes." 68.5 percent provided positive answers -- an increase of 15.6 percent from the opinion poll held on 24 Mar. But it was still three weeks to the election and a lot could happen.

Our opinion in the three weeks before the election was that the GNP should concentrate the campaigns on stating to the Korean people that a Uri win is a vote for the justification of Roh's policies. Remind them that his popularity dropped to below 30 percent because of his actions/inactions/waffling. Remind the public of how he took the economy and flushed it down the toilet. Show the public what THEY believed on a few weeks before. Point to his record: step-by-step for the past year.

We have followed Roh's year in office at President Roh: Anti-American or Radical Reformist and it won't be hard to illustrate the massive blunders.

The Dong-A Ilbo and Korea Research ran a poll on 24 Mar found support for the Uri Party at 49.7 percent, the GNP at 16.7 percent, the Democratic Labor Party at 8.1 percent and the MDP at 3.9 percent. Only in the Daegu/North Gyeongsang Province area -- Park's political support base -- were the GNP's support ratings higher. In Busan, a GNP stronghold, the GNP and Uri Party were neck-and-neck. However, this may change as the possibility grows that voters may feel the need to restrain the ruling party. Voices from the GNP grow louder day-by-day claiming that if the Uri Party were to get more than a legislative majority -- perhaps taking all 200 seats in the National Assembly -- Korea would become a left-wing one-party dictatorship. There is now talk that the Roh camp has "hinted" that if the Uri Party wins 150-200 seats, it would justify the Roh administration's policies -- and vindicate the negative reactions against his policies in the past.

On 29 Mar a poll by the Donga Ilbo showed that the support for the Uri Party was decreasing while public support for the opposition GNP showed signs of recovery. The high ratings for the Uri Party may indicate that the voters are not so supportive of the Uri Party as in the punishment mode towards the GNP/MDP. The new chairman of the GNP, Park Geun-hye, stumped the Provinces telling the voters to give the GNP "one last chance."

On 29 Mar the NEC also approved Park Kyung-seob to replace in a proportional seat former Rep. Cho Woong-kyu, who recently left the party.

On 4 April, North Korea publically welcomed the alleged prevalence of pro-Pyongyang sympathizers over anti-communist conservatives in South Korea -- and attributed such recent developments to its leader Kim Jong-il's "great" leadership. The conservative Korea Development Research Center in South Korea released the content of an internal lecture given to cadres of North Korea's official Workers' Party on its website. The GNP candidates immediately pounced on this item to support their concerns of the state of the union under Roh, but appeared to back off over fear of a backlash.

The GNP chose “self-examination, future-oriented vision and unity” as the core concepts of its public relations strategy. The party was trying to erase its image of conservative and mercenary party and to stress the image of a healthy conservative and economic specialist party. The GNP named Park Chan-sook, a former anchor at the KBS, as the head of its public relations committee, which was newly made up of six specialists in their 30s. The party has entrusted the team with full powers because it concluded that due to bureaucratic rigidity, it had ignored fresh ideas of working-level specialists during the 2002 presidential election campaigning that led to the defeat of what it considered its shoe-in candidate.

On 6 Apr a Seoul criminal court sentenced a GNP legislator to five years in prison and a 50-million-won fine on bribery charges. In the ruling, the court accepted the claim by the prosecution that Park Joo-cheon of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) received bribes of 50 million won from the Hyundai Group in 2000 in exchange for helping Chung Mong-hun, the late Hyundai Group chairman, avoid attending a parliamentary inspection hearing.

On 7 Apr GNP leader Park Geun-hye said she would visit North Korea and the U.S. after the April 15 general election to resolve the dispute over the North's nuclear weapons program. This is the typical worthless political tripe started to become the norm after 5 April. Most of the half-baked campaign promises are not well-thought out and are only spoken to appease the voters. However, most Korean voters have matured a bit and can see through these promises as simply that -- promises that were not meant to be fulfilled.

"The Grand National Party's surge in certain regions is evident," said Kim Deok-young, president of a major pollster, Korea Research. "The GNP is rapidly improving its underdog position in many regions." The main opposition GNP has traditionally been strong in the nation's southeastern region.

With the Uri Party lead shrinking fast, the race has turned into a close heat in some districts of the Gyeongsang and Jeolla provinces and Seoul area. On 11 Apr GNP chairwoman Park Geun-hye stumped in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. She said, "The ruling party, which should be putting all its energy into rescuing the economy and helping the unemployed, is devoting itself to slander... I ask you to give the opposition party enough power to restrain the ruling party so that it does not monopolize the National Assembly."

On 12 Apr, it appeared that regionalism showed little signs of abating. Unpublished public polls show that the GNP could sweep most of the 68 seats at stake in its traditional home turf in the nation's southeastern region. The GNP also targeted the older voters in its strategy as the Uri Party chairman made a tactical error by stating the older generation should stay home. This target group has a high percentage of turnout in the 80 percent range while the younger generation has a turnout in the 20-30 percent range. Rival party officials estimated that up to 40 percent of all voters were still undecided, making it extremely difficult to forecast the election outcome. In 50 districts the outcomes were too close to call. They agreed that the outcome of the vote will be decided largely in politically scrambled Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province where 109 seats are at stake.

On 13 Apr the Uri Party's once commanding lead of over 50 percent was slipping by 1.5 percent a day. The Uri Party chairman offered to resign if the party did not do well in the elections.

On 25 Mar Choo Mi-ae, a disgruntled member of the MDP, reportedly wanted the party's chairman, Chough Soon-hyung, and the rest of the leadership to resign and take responsibility for the party's low public standing after the impeachment of President Roh. The misfortunes of the MDP began last September when a group of lawmakers loyal to President Roh broke away to establish the Uri party. The MDP appeared to overcome this crisis by electing Rep. Chough Soon-hyung as its leader late last year. Its popularity soared but there was internal squabbling over the leadership. Chough narrowly beat Choo Mi-ae in the party's leadership race late last year during a bitter fight between conservative old guard and progressives over the direction of the Party after MDP politicians split away to form the Uri Party.

In order to quell the dispute, she was appointed to head the Election Campaign Committee. However, Choo refused the leadership's proposal for her to head the party's campaign committee, saying Chough must resign and that she should hold the party's overall management rights. The feud escalated and her name was withdrawn from heading the Election Campaign Committee by Chough. The split was becoming serious with the possibility of a landslide defeat at the polls -- and possible extinction of its power base in the Cholla area. MDP lawmakers Park In-sang and Cho Sung-joon had resigned from the MDP party. Because of the confrontation, there was a potential of a split with as many as 20 politicians forming an "alliance" with the Uri Party at the last minute. Many MDP members are jumping the embattled party which they believe is certain to fail in the elections. The party has 62 members in the outgoing legislature. The speaker for the MDP decided to quit politics with the parting comment that the MDP politicians need to stop passing the buck over the impeachment issue.

Both reformist and conservative factions agreed that Choo, a former judge and two-term lawmaker popular for her strong political convictions, was the best alternative for the party to get out of the current quagmire. A compromise was reached. Choo Mi-ae backed down over demanding the resignation of Chough Soon-hyung. Chairman Chough Soon-hyung, in turn, agreed to hand over the authority to manage party affairs to Choo Mi-ae return for her promise to head the party's campaign committee. The two-leader system would lead the ailing party through the April 15 general elections.

On 28 Mar Choo Mi-ae formally accepted the position to head the Election Campaign headquarters for the MDP. In a televised broadcast, she apologized to the nation for the party spearheading the impeachment of President Roh -- though she side-stepped the question whether her apology was personal or represented the views of the party leadership. In a speech to open the minor opposition party's election campaign headquarters for the April 15 general elections, Choo said, "I will try my best to focus the election on policies and candidates (rather than on parties), even though I'm being targeted in the backlash after the presidential impeachment." Choo would have exclusive authority to prepare the party's election strategy and replace party candidates in some electoral districts in Jeolla Province, where some of party's traditional supporters have turned their backs on the MDP due to the recent impeachment crisis.

Choo will concentrate her efforts on the Cholla area which has been the MDP stronghold for the past thirty years. However, her replacing of original candidates she holds responsible for the impeachment fiasco with reform-minded figures has caused more dissention within the party. Polls indicate that many switched parties because of the impeachment. However, some feel that though the impeachment crisis hurt the MDP in the Cholla area, the emotional ties of 30 years support of the MDP would not be easily severed. People in the end would ask the question, "What has Uri done for us?" However, the question was TIME with so little remaining before the elections.

(SITE NOTE: In our opinion, the best choice of action for the MDP would have been to stop worrying about impeachment retraction or pointing a finger at the Uri Party for deceptions. They needed to move on. Instead, they chose to continue there actions and force a confrontation within their party. Even with the compromise between Choo Mi-ae and Chough Soon-hyung, it ends up with Choo concentrating on the old power base in the Cholla Provinces and Chough campaigning in Daegu as basically a constituent -- though still holding chairman status in name only.

For the MDP, the fight with the Uri over seats is a matter of survival. The GNP had been counting on the MDP splitting the progressive vote with the Uri so any "alliance" with the Uri party would be disadvantageous for it.

Despite the selection of Choo Mi-ae as a symbol of the reformist spirit being rekindled in the party, we believe the Korean voters are sophisticated enough to see it for what it is -- a political move by a party on the ropes and an ambitious politician out to make a name for herself in the name of her "political convictions." She used the current situation to her own aims. Though she had voted for the impeachment, she immediately turned on Chough -- blaming him for the subsequent fiasco.)

On 5 Apr, the MDP resorted to mudslinging accusing the Uri Party of "a certain Cheong Wa Dae and Uri Party official collected billions of won in dirty money for use in the founding of the Uri Party and the general election.” The Uri Party responded with demands of showing them the proof -- which was not forthcoming. Then the MDP accused GNP election committee chairman Park Se-il of being involved in real estate speculation in Gwacheon. The GNP responded likewise, "Show me the proof."

Using the copy-cat technique of the Saemangeum Protest from Pusan-Seoul in 2003, MDP Election Committee head Choo Mi-ae on 3 April proceeded through the streets of Gwangju starting by bowing once every three steps (sam-bo il-bae) to ask for forgiveness in the impeachment debacle by joining with the GNP. (NOTE: Last spring, Su-kyung, a Buddhist priest, performed the “three-steps and one-bow” for 65 days from Buan, Chunbuk, to Seoul City Hall, which is more than 320 km, in order to save the Saemangeum tidal flat.)

Residents appeared moved by Choo's act of contrition, but some expressed doubts as to whether it would help recover support for her party in Gwangju, the MDP's traditional stronghold. A small scuffle by MDP officials with Roh supporters dressed in funeral garb occurred after the Roh group tried to stage a similar "sam-bo il-bae" ceremony by following the MDP group with banners stating "Don't kill those who fell during the Gwangju Uprising a second time." The grandstanding fell short of turning the tables in the MDP's favor according to the polls. She wasn't exactly welcomed at first; she and her party were condemned for "coming back to Gwangju to beg after being kicked out of the rest of the country," "putting on a show" and "trying to instigate destructive regionalism."

However, within a day, local citizens began to take pity on her, and looking at her exhausted form. Choo Mi-ae played it for what it was worth and appeared at rallies in a wheelchair. As of 8 April, it appeared that while disappointment in the MDP still ran high, the party had begun to win back sympathy.

The MDP TV ad strategy emphasized the image of a national party based on Honam Provinces. The party stressed that the nation overcame the 1997 financial crisis when the party was in power and it would continue to pursue the sunshine policy put forward by former president Kim Dae-jung. The MDP prepared five theme songs including an arrangement of popular singer Psy’s “Champion” to target younger voters. With an arrangement of “Betrayer” sung by Bae-ho, the party aims to emphasize the image of the Uri Party as a traitor to traditional MDP supporters like the citizens of Honam Province.

In the Jeolla provinces on 11 Apr, MDP election committee Choo Mi-ae begged voters to bring back to life a party that was "founded on tears" and turn Election Day into a "day of resurrection for democratic forces."

Eight from the United Liberal Democrats cast votes for the impeachment and their seats were in jeapordy from the blowback. Civic groups vowed to mount a campaign to blacklist all those who voted for the impeachment. The ULD, which is controlled by Kim Jong-pil, swept virtually all seats in the nation's central region in 2000, but it may have a rougher time in the upcoming elections.

On 26 Mar Rhee In-je, a longtime presidential hopeful and acting chairman of the minor opposition ULD, was alleged to have accepted illicit money from the GNP ahead of the 2002 presidential election. "I gave a box containing 250 million won (US$216,000) to Rhee's wife in December 2002 and met Rhee two days later to confirm the acceptance," Kim Yun-soo said during his appearance at a Seoul criminal court.

Ob 29 Mar, the NEC approved approved former lawmaker Byun Ung-jun of the ULD to fill the National Assembly seat vacated by ex-lawmaker Kim Chong-hoh.

On 11 Apr Kim Jong-pil, secretary general of the ULD, stumped in South Chungcheong Province and promised his party would work to ensure that the capital is moved to the province in accordance with laws already passed by the National Assembly.

The Democratic Labor Party, a left-wing party that holds no seats in the National Assembly, has come into national focus, with its public support rising among workers and low-income people. The party aims to grab about a dozen seats, securing a foothold in parliament for the first time. The Korean Teachers and Educational Workers Union representing 130,000 low-level government workers, announced on 29 Mar that the umbrella union would back the Democratic Labor Party. On 4 Apr the police issued a warrant to arrest the head of the Teacher's Union for violating the election law, but the Prosecution turned down the police request for an arrest warrant. The leaders of the union had been taken into custody on 3 Apr.

The DLP will certainly benefit from the furor over the impeachment. "The near-certain advance of the Democratic Labor Party into the National Assembly will put party politics on a normal track in Korea and help solidify democracy," said Yoon Pyong-joong, a political science professor at Hansin University. The DLP is against the dispatch of troops to Iraq and supports the full removal of the U.S. military from Korea. It is opposed to the USFK relocation plan because the premise is that the USFK should still be stationed in South Korea. It openly supports opening a dialogue with North Korea.

On 11 Apr DLP election committee head Cheon Young-se announced his party's so-called "Three Revolutions in Welfare" platform calling for free education, free healthcare and public housing.

The Uri Party, formed by Roh loyalists last fall, had only 45 seats in the outgoing parliament with 273 members. However, the impeachment proved to be a gold mine as voters switched allegiance to the Uri Party in anger over the GNP/MDP actions. The Uri Party has been relatively muted after the impeachment -- being careful not to upset the lead gained after the impeachment. The 21 Mar issue of the Donga Ilbo showed the impacts of the impeachment. About 30 percent switched their party votes after the impeachment. With a month till the general elections, the outlook looked grim for the MDP and GNP. Unless a miracle happens, the Uri Party stands to gain an impressive showing -- thus vindicating President Roh's policies and issuing the mandate that has thus far eluded him. Just a month ago, he was in dire straits and things looked dismal for the Uri Party in the April elections. However, now the impeachment has turned things completely around.

According to a Seoul Professor, "It all comes down to how well and how long the Uri Party will be able to play out the impeachment situation to its favor because if the impeachment controversy fades, the competition will return to a race of how well the candidate has made his or her name in the area." With the last candlelight rallies held on 27 March, the impeachment hysteria started to fade and voters started to look more closely at the candidates.

The Uri Party can be expected to use the internet to maintain the same level of "impeachment fever" through the Nosamo support group and other internet organizations. However, the NEC has warned major media outlets to beware of biased coverage or face fines.

The Uri Party moved its headquarters to a warehouse in the middle of a wholesale fruit and vegetable market when it was found that illegal money had been used in part to purchase the building. Like the GNP move to tents, this is merely a symbolic move.

On 28 Mar the Uri Party named a physically handicapped female civic activist No. 1 in its list of 40 candidates to be elected under the proportional representation system. It was squarely aimed at boosting the party's image for the working class and the underprivileged, party officials said. Considering recent opinion polls indicating the party rates about 45 percent of voter support, approximately 27 candidates are expected to garner Assembly badges under the proportional representation systems.

According to the Korea Times on 21 March, the Uri Party is leading the polls in 6 regions of the nation. Traditional GNP strongholds in Seoul have switched to the Uri Party. In Kwangju a bastion for the MDP in the Cholla area, the Uri Party is solidly in the lead. However, a Donga Ilbo poll on 29 March showed the Uri Party's popularity decreased by 2.0 percent, while the GNP's popularity increased by 2.1 percent -- using an opinion poll on 24 March as a baseline. The high ratings for the Uri Party may indicate that the voters are not so supportive of the Uri Party as in the punishment mode towards the GNP/MDP.

Uri Leads GNP in 6 Key Electoral Battlefields

By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter

The ruling Uri Party has cemented its lead over the majority Grand National Party (GNP) in six key electoral battlegrounds ahead of the April 15 general elections, a poll showed on Sunday. A distinct feature is that the upcoming elections are being shaped into an Uri-GNP race, with the second-largest Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) faltering dramatically.

An opinion poll, conducted by Media Research Inc., along with The Korea Times and its sister paper the Hankook Ilbo, found that the Uri Party candidates are running ahead of their GNP and MDP candidates in all six fierce battlefields. The Uri party's popularity surged after March 12, when the opposition-led National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against President Roh Moo-hyun.

According to the telephone survey, Park Chol-yong of the Uri Party was leading GNP candidate Lee Jong-koo by 32.4 percent to 25.8 percent in Kangnam A District, an affluent area in southern Seoul which has traditionally given wholehearted support to the GNP.

Former environment minister Han Myung-sook, running on the Uri Party ticket in the district of Koyang-Ilsan A in Kyonggi Province, was also clearly leading by 47.9 percent to 25.7 percent over GNP floor leader Hong Sa-duk, who is a frontrunner in the race for the party chairmanship.

In Puk-Kangso A in Pusan and in Namhae-Hadong districts in South Kyongsang Province, which are also GNP strongholds, the Uri Party's Lee Chul and Kim Doo-gwan outdistanced GNP's Chung Hyung-keun and Park Hee-tae, by wide margins.

The Uri party performed well in the southwestern Cholla provinces, which have been traditional power bases of the minor opposition Millennium Democratic Party (MDP).

The Uri Party's Gang Gi-jung overwhelmed MDP incumbent Kim Sang-hyun by 53.3 percent to 13.4 percent in Kwangju Puk A, while Uri Party lawmaker Chang Young-dal in Chonju Wansan A beat his MDP challenger Lee Moo-young by 59.1 to 13.7 percent.

The survey on Sunday canvassed 500 adults in every constituency, with margins of error plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

In the meantime, in a poll conducted by Media Research along with KBS, Uri Party candidates swept 20 key battlefields out of all Seoul's 45 constituencies.

jinryu@koreatimes.co.kr

On 28 Mar the Uri Party said it would strive for an inter-Korean parliamentary gathering on Aug. 15, National Liberation Day, to pave the way for a second inter-Korean summit meeting. The first inter-Korean summit was held in Pyongyang in June 2000 between then-President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. This seems rather strange that the Uri Party would bring this up with Kim Dae-jung in "disgrace" over the scandal of money-for-summit scandal -- and the subsequent allegations that he "bought" the Nobel Prize with the summit. On the same date (28 Mar) the Supreme Court on Sunday upheld the convictions of a senior aide to ex-President Kim Dae-jung and three others of illegally remitting money to North Korea just days before the first-ever inter-Korean summit in 2000. Upholding lower court rulings, Justice Kim Yong-dam approved suspended sentences of 18 months to two and a half years for former national security adviser Lim Dong-won, ex-Korea Development Bank (KDB) President Lee Keun-young, Hyundai Asan President Kim Yoon-kyu and former KDB Vice President Park Sang-bae.

The Korean Government Employees Union (KGEU) made up of lower-ranking officials and public works employees in government came out against the impeachment motion and endorsed the Uri Party ahead of the April 15 general election -- flying in the face of Prime Minister Goh's direction that government officials must remain neutral. A standoff deepened between the government and union with the government seeking stern measures against what it said was an illegal move. Government Administration and Home Affairs Minister Huh Sung-kwan ordered police to look into any breach of laws, but the Union refused the police summons. On 4 April, Senior members of a public workers' union which endorsed a political party faced arrest on charges of violating election law. Prosecutors arrested the leader of a public workers' union on 6 Apr over "his expression of support for a specific political party" (Uri Party) in the run-up to the parliamentary elections.

The Uri Party stuck their foot in their mouth again on April 1. Uri Party Chairman Chung Dong-young apologized to elders for his comment on 1 April that older people aged 60 or more do not have to vote April 15 when general elections for the 17th National Assembly are to be held. The allusion was that the young people would carry the election -- without the older generation turning out. He said, ""There have been changes recently, and young people are at the center of the candlelight demonstrations. The future will be the stage of those in their 20s and 30s... To take this a step further, it'll be fine if people in their 60s and 70s do not vote." He added, "It's not absolutely necessary for those people [in their 60s and 70s] to decide on the future... This is because those people will probably exit the stage soon... Those people can rest at home, or to put this another way, whatever people in their 20s and 30s decide on now decides the future, and their interests are at stake."

Chung visited the West House of the Elderly at Janghueng, Chunnam and apologized to the elderly voters, with a deep bow -- which supposedly made it all right. Unfortunately, there were some who believed that his statement was actually his baring of his true inner feelings in that support from the "386 Generation" (30 something -- educated in the 80s -- born in the 60s) was what led to Roh's capturing the Presidency. Some felt that Chung had grown arrogant because of the recent popular support for his party.

When things calmed down, on 6 Apr, the Uri Party did it again. A network of senior voters reserved its supportive stance toward the Uri Party as party officials failed to keep a promise to attend its press conference initially arranged to express the League's support for the Uri Party. Embarrassed by the Uri Party no-show, Cheon Su-cheol of the Korea League of Senior Voters said, "We cannot work with such insincere people who simply break promises."

In a blatantly political move, Uri Party Chairman Chung Dong-young proposed on 5 Apr that the National Assembly repeal its impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun -- even though the matter has already under discussion by the Constitutional Court. He could wait until hell freezes over before the GNP would bite at that gambit. Chung also proposed a tete-a-tete with GNP leader Park Geun-hye to discuss his proposal, but Park Keun-hye turned this down, saying that “the only path left was to calmly await the Constitutional Court’s decision and submit to it.”

Then a rumor made its way around that Uri Party lawmaker Shin Gi-nam had said, "votes from the Jeolla provinces weren't welcome." By 8 April a number of MDP candidates in the Gwangju area who were far behind a week ago are now running neck and neck with Uri Party candidates from the same region. The same holds true of the South Cholla Province as well.

The Uri Party TV advertising conveyed the image that the party would be able to guard democracy and to stabilize the life of ordinary people. The party's public relations strategy is focused on an anti-impeachment stance and economic revival for ordinary people. It will mainly deal with future-oriented themes. The Uri Party chose a theme song that repeats "No. 3, the Uri Party" to win voters who are accustomed to No. 2, the MDP's candidacy number.

By 10 Apr, the Uri Party lead was shrinking fast. The ruling Uri Party and opposition parties opened up a total war on 11 Apr for strategic election districts in the Seoul area and the Jeolla and Chungcheong provinces. With the election just around the corner, the Uri Party's once dominant position has shrunken, and contests in some districts of the Gyeongsang and Jeolla provinces and Seoul area have developed into close races. Those races are really heating up as parties accuse one another of resorting to slander and money politics. Uri Party Chairman Chung Dong-young accused the opposition of resurrecting the "ghosts of regionalism" and sprinkling its ill-begotten money in specific regions to buy votes. He warned that if the forces of "corrupt politics and the impeachment" are allowed to take center stage in the nation's politics once again, Korea is in for a really hard time. To counter the GNP accusations of a Uri Party sweep, the Chung warned the constituents to beware of the "Unstoppable Opposition Argument" of the GNP.

On 12 Apr, Uri Party chairman Chung Dong-young stated he would take responsibility for his party's performance in the April 15 general election indicating the once commanding lead had slipped away. As of 12 Apr, the analysts stated the Uri Party seats were "expected to be close to a majority." In 50 districts it was too close to call. Chung resigned as the party's chief campaigner and withdrew his candidacy for parliamentary seat under proportional representation. He began a fast in protest against the increasing popularity of the GNP which the Uri Party labels as "corrupt party based on regionalism." "The GNP is poised to control the National Assembly again," he said. "My action is aimed at appealing to the people about the serious situation." "We've been too smug, too complacent given the overwhelming initial public support for us," said Min Byung-doo, the Uri Party's top campaign manger. "Support for us has been dropping by an average 1.5 percent a day." As campaigning draws to a close, the competition has come down to a two-way race between the GNP and the Uri Party. Both parties said they aimed to win between 120 and 150 seats in the 299-member single legislature.

In the Chosun Ilbo on 22 Mar it was stated by a Cheong Wa Dae staffer that the President is contemplating whether or not to link the general election to the vote of confidence. Roh thinks that he should keep his promise to the people concerning the "general election and the confidence vote." However, Roh said that he is reluctant to take any action, knowing it would only trigger political conflict especially when the popularity of the Uri Party is increasing.

On 29 Mar a spokesman for President Roh stated that Roh would take no action in the elections until his impeachment troubles are resolved.

By NOT interferring in the political situation BUT PUBLISHING HIS DOMESTIC PHOTOS IN THE NEWSPAPER and issuing daily press releases, he WAS interferring. By stating he would not interfere in the controversy, he was in fact interfering by influencing the public. This was politics. Everyday the newspapers show photos of Roh looking wistfully out a window, walking in the gardens or other photos of a man suddenly cut off from his work. This keeps Roh in the eye of the people.

The announcement from the Presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said that it had received 12,700 e-mails from people expressing support for President Roh since his impeachment on March 12. The president was receiving 1000 emails a day -- versus the normal 100 a day. The presidential office said on its Web site that the e-mails came from housewives, office workers, religious people, students, government officials and soldiers.

SITE NOTE: However, what is strange is that the email counts should have been much higher. Why weren't the numbers in the hundreds of thousands??? Our interpretation of this is that the people who turned out for the candlelight rallies were there to support what they considered a threat to democracy -- NOT to support Roh. Hopefully the Uri Party is aware of this distinction. The same conclusion can be drawn from the candlelight rallies which were against the Impeachment motion -- and not necessarily a sign of support for the embattled President.

On 30 Mar Roh received a boost against accusations of his close aide's corruption. In Oct 2003 Lee Gwang-jae, the aide to President Roh Moo-hyun was accused of receiving billions of won from a former vice chairman of the Sun and Moon Group, but denied the allegations saying he was "set up." Like another Roh aide, Ahn Hee-jeong, who was indicted in connection with the Nara scandal, Lee is one of the core members close to the president. Lee resigned finally after it was revealed that he used the money to pay off personal debts and there were signs of money laundering.

In Mar 2004, the team of special prosecutors wrapped up the three-month graft probe of former aides to President Roh by indicting one ex-official and clearing two others of any wrongdoing. The team of 70 investigators empowered by parliament in December 2003 to open the investigation charged Roh's former presidential secretary for general affairs, Choi Do-Sul, with accepting 491 million won (425,200 dollars) in illegal funds ahead of the presidential election in December 2002.

The probe cleared two others, Lee Kwang-Jae and Yang Gil-Seung. Both Lee, Roh's one-time secretary for information and policy monitoring, and Yang, a former personal secretary, were accused of accepting bribes from businessmen. Choi had already been indicted and jailed on separate charges of receiving 1.1 billion won in illegal political donations from a business conglomerate, the SK Group, just after the election.

However, these aides were called to testify before the Constitutional Court on 9 Apr to determine the validity of the impeachment motion on charges of corruption.

Roh continued to keep his face on the front page by planting a tree on Cheong Wa Dae's grounds on April 5. In addition, there were leaked rumors that Roh might apologize after the Parties withdraw the impeachment. Then the head of "Nomaso," the Roh support group, chimed in to say after the election the Uri Party should split.

On 11 Apr as Roh hiked in the mountains behind Cheong Wa Dae with his wife, he was accompanied by reporters and made front page news. President Roh Moo-hyun said a "win-win and integration politics" will be tried after the April 15 general election and will eventually be successful -- stating that it was due to his "participatory form of government." He was quick to point out that he was restrained from taking any political action until after the elections, but he would be free to comment after the elections.

The Citizen's Alliance for the General Election, a prominent activist alliance, announced a list of 208 members of the National Assembly that it suggests should not be reelected on 6 April. It was seen as a direct challenge to election authorities. All those who voted for the impeachment of President Roh were on the blacklist. The blacklist, reminiscent of a similar one which hugely affected general elections four years ago, is expected to have a big impact on the outcome of the upcoming elections. The Hankyoreh newspaper -- a supporter of President Roh's policies -- came out in favor of this blacklist stating that the legislators had failed to listen to their constituents voices. It said, "We think it is only right that those who participated in the impeachment move should be included in the list of undesirable candidates, because the forced move to pass the bill was a serious challenge to representative democracy."

On the opposite side of the coin, the names of 54 candidates were said to be fit to win National Assembly seats. The list comprised of 36 candidates from the pro-government Uri Party, 12 from the Democratic Labor Party, three from the MDP, two from the GNP and one independent candidate.

Constant violations of the election laws may invalidate the results of many positions in the National Assembly resulting in special elections. Some of the violations resulted in such ridiculous situations as fines to the voters of 50X the gifts worth. In this case, 5,000 won chocolates and $9.25 dinners were judged as illegal gifts to voters and the voters were fined 50x the worth. No mention was made of the fines to the politician. There is a reward system in effect for snitching on illegal bribes. One politician complained that after a lunch with prospective voters he apologized that the voters would have to pay for their own dinner -- much to the disgruntlement of the audience. The following is from the Joongang Ilbo on 26 Mar:

Elections panel sees widespread violation of law

The campaign has yet to start, and elections are still three weeks away, but the National Election Commission warned yesterday that a "considerable number" of special elections will be held after the April 15 vote for a new National Assembly because of an apparent upsurge in election law violations.

"Among the total violations, 305 cases have been filed with the prosecution or referred to the police for investigation, meaning that there may well be a fair amount of special elections after April," said Kim Ho-yeol, an official with the National Election Commission.

The watchdog agency said that it has already found 2,086 violations of the election law so far this year. The figure is about three times higher than the violations recorded during the same period in 2000 National Assembly elections. In 2000, the commission had found 818 violations. Out of the 818, 15 cases were referred to the prosecution or the police. In the end, the results of 10 races were invalidated.

Victories are annulled if candidates' violations are serious enough to result in fines of 1 million won ($863) or more. Election laws, strengthened by the last Assembly, can also void the election of a candidate whose campaign finance manager or a family member is fined 3 million won or more.

About 70 percent of the cases referred to the prosecution end with an indictment against candidates. That rate can go up depending on the authorities' determination to root out corruption, as seems to be the case with this year's elections.

The commission has announced that it will impose 50-fold larger fines for the illegal acceptance of cash, meals or gifts; and rewards of a maximum 50 million won for whistle-blowers who report campaign violations.

According to statistics released yesterday, Our Open Party had the largest number of violations with 593 cases. The Grand National Party followed with 456 cases; the Millennium Democratic Party, 293 cases; the Democratic Labor Party, 91 cases; and the United Liberal Democrats, 36.

Commission officials said they expect the number of violations to go up, once campaigning begins on April 2. Also yesterday, the National Police Administration said that as of Friday morning, they have found 2,775 people who have violated election laws. Among that number, the police arrested 65.

As a result, many politicians are looking to advertising instead of "gifts" to voters. Their efforts have been primarily through the internet. However, this has resulted in fines by the NEC for inappropriate advertisements by media companies. The NEC also filed protests with the major broadcast media for "biased reporting." The following is from the Donga Ilbo on 25 Mar:

Election Law Violation Cases Reach 2,086, Up 2.5 Times From Four Years Ago

In this year alone, the amount of election law violation cases related to the April 15 general election has reached the 2,000 mark.

The Central Election Management Committee disclosed on March 26 that "From January 1 to March 25, the cases of election law violations total 2,086 in all. We have entered litigation in 189 cases, requested the police to investigate 116 cases, gave warning to 893 cases, cautioned 874 cases, and handed over 14 cases to their relevant agencies."

This means that approximately 24 cases per a day have been filed on average, showing a 155 percent increase from the general election four years ago. In particular, the number of litigation and investigation requests has crossed 300, which could potentially impact the election and increase the possibility of successive spoiled votes.

In classification by party, the Open Uri Party accounts for 28.4 percent of all election law violation cases with 593; the Grand National Party, 21.9 percent with 456 cases; the Millennium Democratic Party, 14.0 percent with 293 cases; the Democratic Labor Party, 4.3 percent with 91 cases; the United Liberal Democrats, 1.7 percent with 36 cases; and the others, 12.7 percent with 265 cases.

In classification by type, illegal distribution of prints and magazines accounts for 39 percent with 814 cases; offers of money, food, and transportation, 17.2 percent with 359 cases; illegal facility establishments, 13.9 percent with 290 cases; and internet and telephone use for illegal election activities, 12.7 percent with 265 cases.

The reason for the skyrocketing increase in election law violation cases can be traced to the early stage fever in relation to the ambience of candidate nomination, and volunteered reports by electors. "Thanks to the revised election law, which offers rewards for law violation reports, even secret offers of money are laid bare," said one election observer.

Old habits die hard with politicians. Authorities identified dozens of candidates for National Assembly seats, including incumbent lawmakers, who allegedly engaged in illegal campaigning ahead of the April 15 legislative elections. The National Election Commission yesterday discovered a secret accounting book of an incumbent lawmaker, Park Won-hong, which allegedly recorded illegal money transfers to voters in his district. Mr. Park bowed out of the race. In other cases, Daegu police yesterday arrested Park Ki-choon, who is running as an independent in Daegu's Dalseo district, and two of his campaign officials on charges that they gave a free tour and entertainment to district voters. Police in Gangneung, Gangwon province, requested detention warrants yesterday for a Gangneung district candidate, identified only as Mr. Kim, and six of his campaign officials, on charges of giving 590 million won to 140 district voters. The Daejeon District Public Prosecutors Office yesterday indicted without detention 27 telephone solicitors on charges of receiving money from a candidate, identified only as Mr. Kim, when he was running in Our Open Party's primary in Daejeon's Jung district. Mr. Kim was indicted as well.

On 3 Apr, it was announced that the NEC had provided political parties with state subsidies of 26.79 trillion won (US$23.44 million) for the April 15 general election. According to the NEC, the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP), which holds 145 of 273 seats in the unicameral legislature, received the largest subsidies, 9.8 billion won, followed by the No. 2 opposition Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) with 7.98 trillion won.

The NEC has filed with the prosecutors complaints against 30 candidates. 22 of those cases involve providing goods, money and/or entertainment to voters, with the illegal funds given out ranging from the hundreds of thousands of won into the millions.

According to the Chosun Ilbo on 8 April, the police said; "We've booked 1,546 people for campaign law violations, and have prosecuted 399 of them, including the 180 we've incarcerated... This is close to twice the number of cases exposed during the same period in 2000 general election." Of the people currently being investigated by prosecutors for election law violations, 95 of them are candidates, and six of them have already been put in prison. About half the candidates under investigation are accused of violations -- such as providing valuables and entertainment to people they shouldn't have -- that carry with them the likelihood of electoral disqualification." The worry is that there will be a rash of special elections as those who committed illegal acts may have their victories nullified.

The article went on to say, "In particular, under the new election laws established before this general election, candidates found guilty of election law violations drawing more than W1 million in fines are disqualified. Moreover, if a candidate's spouse or campaign accountant is found guilty of violations punishable by W3 million in fines, the candidate can be disqualified (the previous law mandated disqualification only if the offense was punishable by imprisonment). With this in mind, a significant number of election disqualifications are expected. Of the 243 seats of for grabs, officials from all parties are predicting, at the very least, 20~30 election annulments, and at the most, 50~60."