Radio Australia Today Editorial

South Korea’s Roh Moo-Hyun’s death.

25 May 2009

When former human rights lawyer Roh Moo-Hyun was elected president of South Korea in 2003, he did so on the ticket of squeaky cleanness.

In his five years in office this proved not to be enough. His critics multiplied, making allegations of incompetence, not helped by unnecessary diplomatic tensions with the U.S. and Japan. His “sunshine policy” of reapproachment with North Korea just wasn’t winning him the approbation he had hoped would come with such a strong move.

He also demonstrated a lack of political judgement when he admitted that he felt incompetent as a president and that he had anxiety that he would not be able to perform in the role. Now this was most probably just openly expressing the personal fears and doubts that every person, politician or not, feels when hoisted to positions of responsibility. What marked Roh’s admission was the fact that he should’ve kept those fears to himself. To a watching world, including North Korea’s Kim Jong Il, such an admission made him look weak.

Still, he lasted five years in the job, which is an extraordinary time, considering that his supporter base dropped pretty quickly , and an impeachment finding (later overturned) was made against him.

Roh had only been out of office less than a year when investigations started into a bribery allegation against him and his family. A relative was charged with influence peddling. This month, allegations mounted that other family members and the former president himself had received bribes.

Roh’s body was found at the base of a mountain cliff on the weekend. Reports suggest that he left a suicide note on his computer.

The investigations into the former president’s honesty will continue, and there will be plenty of people today who will suggest that the act of suicide is the final proof of his guilt. It isn’t, of course. People suicide because of stress and an inability to cope with that stress, not necessarily because of shame and guilt.

Whatever the investigations reveal, this was a tawdry end to six years of political life that started so promisingly. Roh should’ve been enjoying this time of life as a feted former leader who reformed his country and made an ally out of its bitterest enemy.

Instead all that lies in scandal and disrespect. And that’s pretty sad.

                                                                                                       – Phil