S.Korean oppo try to hold impeachment vote

[maddezmom]

SEOUL (Reuters) - Angry South Korean opposition leaders have entered parliament to try to push ahead with an unprecedented attempt to impeach President Roh Moo-hyun after he refused to apologise for illegal electioneering.

The 57-year-old president also said at a televised news conference on Thursday he would decide his future based on the outcome of an April 15 parliamentary election at the heart of an impeachment bid that could plunge South Korea into months of uncertainty.

"I am aware of public opinion that I should apologise," Roh said. "It is something difficult for me to accept."

Foreign investors closely watch political stability in South Korea, which already faces a crisis over North Korea's nuclear ambitions, a still-nascent recovery in Asia's fourth-largest economy and an investigation into illicit funds given to political parties by conglomerates known as "chaebol".

~snip~

more: http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=473563§ion=news

[Snow]

1. This smells to high heaven.

Roh is IMHO a very decent man, a self-taught human rights lawyer, and a true political liberal. The force to push him out is coming from the old farts - some even left over from Pak Chunghee in the 70's - and some very definitely left over from those two awful turkeys, Chun Doohwan and Roh Taewoo. My wife, who comes from a family with long-standing political connections, refers to the old farts, who are of the so-called 'Han Nara Dang' or 'One Country Party', as the Korean equivalent of the Bush-Cheney bunch. Kim Jongpil and Kim Youngsam are excellent examples of the type.

President Roh, on the other hand, has followed in the steps of his predecessor, Kim Daejung, in extending the diplomatic efforts with North Korea, in backing away from the US and warning them to keep a distance. He has appointed some very liberal people to his cabinet, including a Quaker woman who's friends with my wife and a very young (& female), fiery attorney general who raised hackles among the old farts from day 1.

What has me concerned is that while of course this push to impeach could be purely internal politics, the old farts are friendly with bushco and share many of their values. I can't help but wonder about the degree to which the US might be involved in this effort. John Bolton could be playing games here.

There're also some regional hatreds going on. The old farts have their power base in North Kyoungsang province, while the new crowd are centered around South Cholla province. Those two provinces traditionally don't get along, and ex-dictator Noh Taewoo, from North Kyoungsang province, murderously stomped on a rebellion in Kwangju, the capital of South Cholla province. So there's a lot of bad blood there. Just to confuse things even further, former president Pak Chunghee's daughter had been part of the old farts' party, and has split with them, despite also being from North Kyoungsang. So the geezers and wheezers are extraordinarily angry with her. Despite that, she has a secure seat in parliament and the folks back home love her. She could swing things one way or another, but it's hard to tell yet.

I smell US fiddling, though - might be wise to keep our ears to the ground - given the overt clumsiness of the business in Haiti and Africa, it might be easy to spot the bushco hand in the chicken coop.

[Snow]

2. Let's kick this for the evening bunch

and any other Korea buffs out there :kick: