Grand National Party Press Briefing
14 July 2000 Vol.1, No.6
PRESS BRIEFING
Contact: Jaewook Jeon, Aide on Diplomatic and Foreign Press Affairs
[7/13/00] One hundred and thirty-three GNP Assemblymen issues the following statement criticizing Pyongyang for its recent verbal violence against the GNP President Lee Hoi-Chang. They also express disappointment at the government’s dubious attitude in dealing with this open provocation. Immediately following this statement, we are quoting in a box the text of the diatribe by North Korea’s Korea Central News Agency.
Statement by the GNP Assemblymen
Extremely shocked by the abusive and reckless language in which Pyongyang cursed the GNP President Lee Hoi-Chang for his National Assembly address, we question whether the Kim Jung Il regime genuinely wants peaceful unification of the Korean peninsula. If they did, they would listen carefully to what the opposition in the South has to say and try to offer clear answers to the questions we have raised.
In the continuing deviant behavior of the North we observe an attempt to silence all criticism in the South and control South-North relations as they like. It is clear that they are conspiring to intervene in domestic affairs of the South and maximize their interests by instigating ideological conflict, confusion and political feuds. They have also revealed their intention to influence our internal power transition and thus tailor the ROK politics to suit their unification plan.
We urge North Korea to reflect on itself and apologize.
Even harder to understand is our government’s ‘impartial’ and passive attitude bordering on silence. It seems to be enjoying the Northern abuse poured on Mr. Lee Hoi-Chang. A Blue House official implicitly sided with the North by saying, “Pyongyang went overboard but Mr. Lee has problems as well.” He also said, “If he wishes to win the next Presidential election, Mr. Lee should support [us in this] South-North detente.” This sounds curiously like saying that Pyongyang’s preference will decide who this country’s next president will be.
Would this government side with the North and keep silence even if President Kim Dae Jung were the object of condemnation and verbal violence?
The government should make clear its position regarding the North Korean provocation and take strong measures to prevent recurrence. We demand the ruling party to cooperate with us to cope with the North’s insane behavior that impedes national reconciliation and peaceful unification.
We, the GNP Assemblymen, denounce again North Korea’s intemperate anti-unification behavior and express our regret to the government for its passive, sycophantic attitude in dealing with the North.
In all seriousness, we anticipate the government’s answer.
KCNA terms Ri Hoe Chang imbecile
Pyongyang, July 11 (KCNA) - Improper behaviour swimming against the nation's desire for national reconciliation, unity and reunification and the trend of the times were reported in South Korea recently.
Ri Hoe Chang [sic], president of the "Grand National Party" of South Korea, at a recent session of the "National Assembly" dared to defame the authority of the supreme headquarters of our revolution. He went the length of letting loose outbursts intended to put a brake on the north-south joint declaration and incite the north-south confrontation.
His malignant abuses cannot escape denunciation from the whole nation as he betrayed his true colors as an anti-reunification element and arch traitor keen on hurling mud at the historic north-south joint declaration and escalating the north-south confrontation.
It is by no means fortuitous that the public at home and abroad is now laughing with scorn at Ri as a traitor and an imbecile who is unable to foresee even a bit, ignorant of the trend of the times because of his jealousy.
As already known, the historic meeting and talks which culminated in the adoption of the north-south joint declaration in Pyongyang in June marked a great event of the nation as it ushered in a new era of reconciliation, unity and reunification by bringing a thaw in the frozen relations between the north and the south marked by over a half century-long distrust and confrontation.
It is a height of folly for Ri Hoe Chang to dream of seizing "supreme power" quite contrary to the desire of the nation and the strong trend of the times.
It is as clear as noonday that if such traitor comes to power, the South Korean people will not be able to live in peace even a moment but face great misfortune and disasters and the improving north-south relations will return to the time of confrontation.
Those who are seeking north-south confrontation and challenging the desire of the nation and the need of the times are fated to meet a miserable end.
History will surely punish Ri Hoe Chang for his unpardonable crimes against the cause of national reunification. The traitors to the nation will have to pay a dear price.
[7/6/00] Following is a translated summary of the address given by Mr. Lee Hoi-Chang to the 213th session of the National Assembly. The speech, given in his capacity as the head of the largest voting block on the floor, comprehensively sums up the Grand National Party’s position on various issues such as South-North relations, economic mismanagement and recent labor disputes. This document, we hope, will enhance your understanding of our party’s platform and the dynamics of Korean politics. The full English text is on our website, www.leehc.com.
Address to the 213th Session of the National Assembly
July 6, 2000
Lee Hoi Chang
President of the Grand National Party
[1. On the historic significance of the first National Assembly session of the 21st century]
The theme to guide the politics of our nation is to form a single, unified nation and turn it into an advanced country the world can envy. To ready ourselves for a new epoch requires a commensurately new, open political thinking and new leadership to manage the state. To join the rank of advanced nations, we must establish a national strategy. First of all, our politics must change.
[2. Old politics that disregards the people must end.]
Our people want for themselves a country with good principles and fundamentals. They demand a politics that respects, and is accountable to, the people. They want a trustworthy state and a credible administration.
Old politics still marches on, with the ruling party conspiring to regress to a politics of antagonism, obsessed with superior numbers and power. Unprincipled favoritism in official appointments has not changed. The people's distrust of government has reached an explosive point.
The participants in the recent North-South summit are competitively engaged in demagoguery in praise of Kim Jung Il. The present situation could undermine the valuable free democracy that the Korean people have striven to defend for the past half century.
Upholding the will of the people as expressed in the result of the April 13 election, I met with President Kim on April 24. He promised to conduct a politics of mutual respect and cooperation based on mutual trust and fair play.
The administration clearly intends to monopolize the management of national affairs by excluding the GNP, the largest voting block, and by relying on an artificially secured majority.
I strongly urge President Kim to come back to the spirit of our April 24 meeting.
[3. We demand that extensive election violations be sternly investigated.]
The April 13 general election was a typical case of a very corrupt election. State organizations sided with the ruling party, while bribery and blackmailing were deplorably widespread.
By announcing the North-south summit meeting just three days before the ballot, the government abused a sacred national occasion. While the press and the people were fixated on this news, the regime surreptitiously went about systematically buying votes on a massive, nationwide scale.
The GNP will absolutely not overlook election corruption and attempts to destroy the opposition.
[4. What the nation needs is peaceful coexistence and correct unification.]
[4-1. The summit should become a turning point for peaceful coexistence.]
With the recent South-North summit providing an opportunity to end hostility and open a new chapter in South-North relations, the opposition and the ruling party should work together in relevant areas. The Grand National Party will spare no necessary cooperation.
[4-2. Action speaks louder than words; implementation is more important than agreement.]
In a calm and prudent manner, we should try to realize one by one the two leaders' will for peace and the issues upon which they agreed.
[4-3. Rapturous mood is not helpful for solving outstanding problems.]
After the summit, President Kim Dae Jung declared that "there is no longer going to be any war." A euphoric mood is spreading in our society, as if unification were only steps away.
Our armed forces are confused about who their principal enemy is, and the people’s awareness of the importance of national security is being rapidly eroded. However, no one can yet be absolutely sure whether North Korea has fundamentally changed its attitude.
The government must take the lead in restoring calm. We should try to solve outstanding issues one at a time.
[4-4. Our immediate task is to reduce military tension and promote exchanges and cooperation.]
To secure genuine peace on the Korean peninsula, the most urgent issues are reduction of military tension and promotion of exchanges and cooperation. In future talks to follow up on the joint declaration, practical measures in these two areas should be intensively discussed and implemented.
Our effort ought to be based on the 1992 Agreement on Reconciliation, Non-aggression, and Exchanges and Cooperation between the South and the North. The South-North Joint Commission should also become operational to discuss measures to reduce military tension.
We should first build confidence, and then proceed gradually to solve more difficult issues. All implemented measures should be subject to transparent verification. It should be clearly announced that the South and the North will abandon use of force and aggression, and pursue a peaceful resolution of disputes through dialogue.
The problem of North Korea's missiles and nuclear weapons should be resolved through coordination with our allies.
[4-5. At the core of exchanges and cooperation lies realization of free mutual visits]
Through free mutual visits, both sides should be able to see each other’s true images, taking the first step in building confidence. The government should negotiate hard with the North to achieve this goal.
The most urgent issue is that of separated families. The number of people allowed to hold reunions should be adjusted upward from the agreed 100 to at least 1,000. Further on, all separated families should be able to find out whether their loved ones are still alive, exchange letters, hold reunions, and visit one another.
The government must seek return of our prisoners of war, abducted fishermen, and Korean Air crews. It should not unilaterally send back communist ex-prisoners to the North. If the administration fails in this, the Grand National Party will try to solve the problem through cooperation with international organizations.
[4-6. Reciprocity is essential for sustained development of North-South relations]
Aid to and economic cooperation with North Korea should proceed on the basis of reciprocity to prevent abuse to enhance the North's military capabilities or reinforce its closed system. The two sides should candidly discuss what either needs and is concerned about, and exchange corresponding measures for mutual benefit.
Aid to should be given within our capacity to bear the burden. We need first to take care of our own economy to increase that capacity.
Our private-sector ventures in the North should follow business logic. The role of government should be limited to negotiating to eliminate the North’s institutional barriers to private sector investment.
The budget needed to assist the North should be appropriated and executed following transparent legal procedures, subject to approval by the National Assembly.
I have proposed enactment of a Special Law on Economic Assistance to North Korea that will stipulate principles in aiding the North and ways to raise necessary funds. Our party has already announced Guidelines for Successful South-North Economic Cooperation. I now suggest establishment of a Special Committee on South-North Relations to discuss follow-up measures in the wake of the recent summit.
[4-7. The pace of progress in South-North relations should determine domestic institutional rearrangements and diplomatic adjustments.]
Reduced military tension and full-fledged exchanges and cooperation will have to be supported by measures to adjust and supplement our internal laws and institutions. Externally, we need to balance progress in inter-Korean relations with diplomacy toward our four neighboring powers. Our National Security Law and our alliance with the United States might be adjusted and supplemented along with the flow of the times.
It is too hasty and imprudent to raise such issues as the Korea-U.S. alliance and the presence of U.S. troops in Korea, as well as revision of our Constitution. It is never too late first to confirm positive changes in the North and then to revise our stance. The Korea-U.S. alliance is not a roadblock but a stepping-stone on the way to an independent resolution of the Korean problem.
We also need to seek a Multilateral Security Dialogue involving the United States, Japan, China, and Russia, as well as the two Koreas to reduce strategic uncertainties in Northeast Asia and to secure regional stability. We should also study establishment of a Northeast Asian Development Bank that would raise funds to aid the North as opening and reform there accelerate.
[4-8. On the basis of peaceful coexistence, we should proceed to a 'correct' unification.]
It is urgent first to achieve peaceful coexistence and cooperation, based on mutual recognition of each other's political systems and institutions.
When peace and cooperation are secured and as North Korea gradually changes, an opportunity for unification will quietly emerge. Unification would have to be realized in such a way that, on the entire Korean peninsula, freedom and human rights are respected and democracy allowed to bloom.
Premature discussion of unification will only incite confusion and conflict in our society. Rather than advocating certain unification formulas, we should be ready for any possibilities. We first need to advance democracy and strengthen the economy in order to nurture our capability to meet the colossal challenge.
[4-9. For a balance between security, peace, and unification]
In advancing our relations with the North, none of our three objectives—security, peace, and unification—should be neglected; we should uphold each of them with equal energy.
[5. Economic crisis is by no means over. Public funds must be put in as necessary and restructuring redone.]
[5-1. We must correctly perceive the serious situation still facing the Korean economy.]
Present financial sector problems and credit crunches may bring about a general crisis.
Notwithstanding the conceited statements put out by the President and the ruling party that they have 'overcome the economic crisis within a year and a half, ' the restructuring of the financial sector is at point zero, after soaking up 100 trillion won of public funds. Exactly how much more of taxpayers' money will be needed is not known. The duplicitous books of the government and the financial system may hide behind them gargantuan bad debts.
Right now the big worry is corporate bankruptcies. They spells large-scale layoffs.
This year has seen clear declining trends in industrial output, consumption, investment and current account. Exports, so far one bright spot, are also vulnerable, relying on a few key products. Rising oil prices and a possible downturn in the American economy threaten us. Domestic and foreign capital could flow out of the country any moment.
If financial instability worsens, a downturn in the business cycle may start prematurely, sending our economy into an uncontrollable mode of crisis.
Despite the seriousness of the circumstances, the government's perception has been complacent at best.
[5-2. The fundamental reason for the problem is crude and hasty restructuring.]
The government pushed for hasty and incomplete restructuring in its overwhelming desire to 'graduate from the IMF conditionalities within a year and a half.'
Our financial bind today is mainly the result of the mishandling of the Daewoo and the ITC debacles. In corporate restructuring, this government has wasted valuable time, obsessed with the policy of Big Deals and the desire to tame chaebol to its liking. Those chaebol closest to the ruling power, namely Daewoo and Hyundai, have failed, whereas those that have cowered have accomplished far better restructuring.
Instead of pursuing efficient management in the failing firms, the government has intervened more bluntly with its unprincipled personnel appointments and arbitrary regulation. It has denounced the opposition's criticism and policy suggestions as anti-reformist and glossed over wrong policy measures in the name of reform.
[5-3. It is not too late for the right choice.]
The government does not possess many options. It must decide whether, if belatedly, to pursue correct restructuring, or to keep issuing patch-up prescriptions and cause a greater catastrophe later.
The Grand National Party and I advise that the government opt for a long-term cure despite short-term pain it may entail. We also have several policy suggestions:
First, when necessary, public funds should be injected in sufficient amounts at the right moments. I demand that the government submit to the National Assembly a Public Funds White Paper containing all information about the funds' outlays and future plans. Our party will also seek a Special Inspection and Investigation of State Administration on Public Funds.
Second, we urge failing corporations to engage in aggressive restructuring. Those firms that are not revivable must be liquidated or sold off. Workout programs must not be allowed to become a safe haven for failed businesses. The owners and chief executives of mismanaged, failed corporations must be brought to civil and criminal court.
Three, a Special Law to End Government Intervention in Financial Industry should be enacted. The government must avoid indiscriminately issuing patch-up measures under the pretext of easing corporate credit. Forcing losses on banks will only worsen the woeful predicament of Korea's financial industry.
Four, Implementation of the Partial Depositor Protection Law should be put off until the financial system is freed from bureaucratic control and normalized
[6. Problems concerning the people's livelihood should be solved through a politics of mutual respect and cooperation.]
This administration has driven forth with its crude and rash policy measures in the name of reform and ruined the livelihood of many citizens. Medical reform, the National Pension Fund, and the integrated health insurance system are just a fraction of these problems.
Education is in a total crisis. Farm income has dwindled while our farmers have become more indebted than ever. Fishermen have lost their fishing grounds to Japanese and Chinese fleets. Our homeless and unemployed barely survive in desperate conditions. Women are hardly better off than before.
The opposition and the ruling party must adopt a broader perspective and cooperate to solve these problems.
As to the proposed 2.4 trillion won supplementary budget, if the government's genuine intention is to help our citizens in difficult circumstances, we have no reason to oppose it.
However, our serious fiscal deficit and public debt compel us to seek national consensus in setting priorities in spending. Otherwise, our next generation would end up suffering from a gigantic debt burden.
[7. Public authorities ought to restrain use of force against labor.]
The government’s ultra-tough reaction to several recent strikes is clearly an act of violence going beyond that limit. The pretext of maintaining law and order cannot justify excessive police violence.
[8. Conclusion]
I courteously advise President Kim and his government to reflect on the failed first half of his presidency and try to turn the other half into a success.
I urge him to become a president who will receive a whole-hearted ovation from the people and the opposition as he steps down at the end of his five-year term. To such a president we at the Grand National Party promise unreserved cooperation. But on a president we will not fail to pour reproach and criticism more pointed than a spearhead and more scorching than a flame.
We will cooperate when cooperation is necessary and keep thorough watch on the administration to check its blunders. Thus we will build ourselves up as a reasonable and credible opposition.
We ask the people to give us continuing love and guidance.