National News

South Korea's Roh says he may quit after proposed referendum

SEOUL (AP) - After just eight months on the job, President Roh Moo Hyun stunned South Koreans Oct. 13 by proposing a December referendum to gauge public trust in him and promising to resign if he fares poorly.

Roh's high-stakes gamble - virtually unprecedented in South Korean politics - caught even the president's opponents off guard.

Roh himself said the referendum would likely generate political chaos at a time when he is trying to reviｖe the economy and resolve a standoff over North Korea's development of nuclear weapons.

But in a speech to the South Korean National Assembly, Roh said he needed a new mandate because corruption scandals involving his aides were paralyzing his government.

He was referring particularly to an ongoing investigation into an allegation that Choi Do Sool, a longtime Roh aide, received $956,000 (¥104 million) in bribes from SK Group, South Korea's third-largest conglomerate, shortly after Roh won the presidential election. Two opposition lawmakers are also under investigation in the scandal.

The bold call for a referendum dramatized Roh's maverick leadership style. The 57-year-old former human rights lawyer has often relied on populist initiatives to overcome political fixes.

Roh said he wants to hold the referendum about Dec. 15 so that a presidential election could take place at the same time as April parliamentary elections if the vote goes against him.

The main opposition Grand National Party described Roh's proposal as a "political plot" ahead of the parliamentary elections, calculated to get voters to rally around him.

"Isn't Roh's announcement a calculated political plot aimed at patching up corruption involving his close aides and overcoming the crisis he faces?" the party said in a statement.

Shukan ST: Oct. 24, 2003

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