Controversial visit to a former president

Every year, Former Presidents of Korea Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo left open the door of their houses in Yeonhui-dong, Seoul, for the officials from the 5th and 6th Republic of Korea visiting them for new year’s celebration. The houses of the two former presidents were close enough, but their views drew stark contrast. Mr. Chun sat on a fancy mattress in a traditional Korean dress, receiving a bow from the visitors. Glib as he is, he would own the audience even when he was offering words of blessing. On the other hand, Mr. Roh invited the visitors in a reception room, greeting them with hand-shaking in a formal western suit. The well-wishing words were shared over a cup of tea with the decorum accompanying such occasion. Those are the images that I recall from my own experience of visiting their houses as a political journalist.

▷ Governor Won Hee-ryong of Jeju Provincial Government visited Mr. Chun’s house a day before the Luna New Year’s Day to pay a bow to him back in 2007, and his website collapsed overloaded with a barrage of comments of criticism. As a presidential candidate from the Grand National Party, he said he could do even worse things if doing so can help realize the miracle of national unity, but as a principled maverick running for office under the flag of reform, the visit had dealt him too hard a blow already. Even if it is labeled as a courtesy paid to an old statesman, paying a visit to a former president stigmatized with a criminal record is a risk too big to take for any politician.

▷ Choo Mi-ae, the new chairperson of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea canceled her plan to visit Former President Chun Doo-hwan, after facing heavy oppositions from in and out of her party. They said it was inappropriate for the chairwoman to visit Mr. Chun, when he has yet to issue an official apology and show remorse for the massacre of the May 18 democratic uprising in Gwangju. She said she planned the visit to pursue national unity, but she must have been awakened to reality by the unrelenting public view on the controversial former president.

▷ In May, 2002, Roh Moo-hyun, the then presidential candidate of the Minjoo Party, visited the house of Former President Kim Yeong-sam (YS) for the first time in 13 years, and bowed to him three times in a token of respect. The visit was followed by denouncement from the Grand National Party who said, “After calling him (YS) names over the three-party merge, (Roh) is now scrambling to get votes from Busan and South Gyeongsang Province.” While the chairwoman of the main opposition party canceled the visit, she was not careful enough. Times have changed, and now the leader of the main opposition party pays respects to the tombs of Rhee Seung-man and Park Chung-hee at the Seoul National Cemetery along with those of Former Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, but it appears that the house of Mr. Chun, who is still alive, remains a restricted area.