[Editorial] The need for a real investigation into Four Major Rivers Project boondoggle

Water leaks out from a 5-centimeter crack in the concrete wing wall of the Gumi Weir on the Nakdong River, part of the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project (Courtesy of Prof. Park Chang-geun)

A commission set up to investigate and assess the Four Major Rivers Project released its findings on Dec. 23. The project was a partial success, with some aspects simply needing additional work, the commission found.

These findings are sure to be criticized as a poor assessment based on a poor investigation. In short, they demonstrate the limits of a commission whose members were drawn from academia and organizations with a stake in the project, excluding the independent experts and civic groups that had drawn attention to the downsides of the project.

If this was the best the commission could do, the National Assembly will have to carry out a parliamentary investigation into the Four Major River Project.

In the report, the commission‘s assessment of the safety of the project’s facilities contradicts its final conclusion about the project‘s success. The commission said that it had found leaks in the concrete riverbeds at six of the 16 weirs in the project. At the same time, the commission concluded, there were no serious safety concerns.

In addition, the commission discovered that the stagnation resulting from the weirs and the dredging of the rivers was worsening water quality, effectively acknowledging that the project was causing algal blooms in the rivers. It also recognized that the ecological parks and rivers that had been created as part of the project had in fact damaged wildlife habitats.

Despite this, the commission concluded that, over all, there were no problems with the project, endorsing the position of the government and the ruling party.

Examined point by point, the commission’s findings reveal signs of a shoddy investigation leading to an illogical conclusion. The commission itself admitted that it had been unable to adequately investigate certain topics because of limited time and funding. It also acknowledged that its investigation had been fundamentally limited, since political and judicial issues had been excluded from the scope of its assessment.

While the Saenuri Party (NFP) is acting as if the commission’s report has cleared up all of the allegations surrounding the Four Major Rivers Project, if anything it only underlines the need for a parliamentary investigation the issue.

The Four Major Rivers Project was a destructive initiative in which the government spent 22 trillion won (US$19.88 billion) digging up the rivers that had been passed down to us from our ancestors. We can no longer delay finding out why this project was promoted and identifying the people responsible for it.

The National Assembly needs to set up a fact-finding body that represents civic groups and experts to look into all of these accusations, and it also needs to devise measures to repair the damage that has been done to the rivers.

　

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

[Editorial] UPP disbandment making South Korea an international laughingstock

The disbanding of the Unified Progressive Party (UPP) was a Park Geun-hye “creation.” True, it was the Constitutional Court turned this tragic drama into fact, but the president is the one who supervised the project. Lacking any real results to show for her time in office, she landed the biggest one of all just in time for her second anniversary: turning back the clock on democracy by outlawing the UPP.

The ruling, Park said, was a “historic judgment that firmly preserves liberal democracy.” We’ll ignore the scholarly debate over the term “liberal democracy” for now and simply note that the decision was neither “liberal” nor “democratic.” Instead, personal freedoms and rights were trampled. Freedoms of expression and association were ruthlessly crushed, and representative democracy - based on the citizen’s right to choose - thoroughly repudiated. If Park wishes to congratulate herself on a job well done, perhaps it would better to call it a “victory for anti-Communist democracy.”

To be honest, Park’s aims in disbanding the UPP were never remotely about guarding democracy or upholding constitutional values. It’s well known that the UPP was never going to pose any serious threat to South Korean society. Indeed, it was already moribund, its political death warrant sealed with the trial of lawmaker Lee Seok-ki for conspiracy to commit insurrection. So why did Park feel compelled to deliver the coup de grace by having it broken apart? The only explanation that comes to mind is her own personal dislike and political vendetta against the party.

The Blue House seen in the distance behind the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Dec. 19, the day of the ruling to disband the Unified Progressive Party. (by Lee Jong-geun, staff photographer)

　

A political vendetta from the 2012 presidential election debates

When the Constitutional Court ruling was delivered, many people flashed back to the televised presidential election debate of Dec. 4, 2012. They recalled then-UPP candidate Lee Jung-hee launching a scathing attack at Park, declaring she was running as a candidate specifically to “bring down Park Geun-hye.” And they recalled Park, staring back at Lee with rage-filled eyes. The National Intelligence Service dropped the Lee Seok-ki case just in the nick of time, and Park wasn’t about to let the opportunity pass. She enlisted the Ministry of Justice to file a petition on the party’s disbanding with the Constitutional Court. She was presumably convinced that the near-uniformly conservative, pro-ruling party Constitutional Court would do what she wanted, and it didn‘t let her down. Park has likened herself to a Jindo dog. “When a Jindo bites, it doesn’t let go until it has ripped away all the flesh,” she has said. Now she’s shown just how scary she can be when someone crosses her - sinking her teeth in until the last breath has been choked out.

At the same time, she also showed that she lacks the qualities and virtues needed to be leader of a country. Tolerance, generosity, a sense of balance, consideration for political minorities, and the foresight to let bygones be bygones - no matter how hard we look, we see no sign of any of these. Most of all, this has been an utter rejection of the public’s desire to achieve reconciliation and unity - one of the most crucial tasks of our times. Instead, we see blazing hostility and petty vindictiveness against a political foe. It‘s a hostility that has serious consequences for our society.

Growing dissent, international criticisms

For now, the UPP’s disbanding is poised to cause divisions and conflict in South Korean society that will not go away easily. Supporters and opponents of the ruling will continue on parallel tracks, with no common ground between them. Already, some far-right groups, including members of the Ilbe website, have been throwing horrendous accusations against the lone dissenting Constitutional Court judge, Kim Yi-su. “Scratch him and you’ll find Jeolla underneath,” said one rightwing commenter. The behavior of immature right-wingers is deplorable, to be sure, but it’s President Park who bears the ultimate responsibility for this situation.

South Korea had already become an international laughing stock after the allegations of interference in state affairs by a secret circle of Park cronies. This ruling is only going to tarnish its image further. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have both issued scathing denouncements. “This sort of draconian political tactic is the sort of thing that one would have expected from an authoritarian like her father [Park Chung-hee] decades ago, and not from the leader of the modern, democratic country that South Korea has become in the 21st century,” said Human Rights Watch. The Venice Commission, an advisory council for world constitutional court organizations, has demanded a copy of the UPP disbandment ruling, which means the decision is now set for international scrutiny. Is Park going to respond to these international criticisms the same way her father did - by talking about the “particularity” of South Korean democracy? It‘s already shameful and exasperating to see this country being singled out by the international community.

Park may be greeting the ruling with a smile of satisfaction, convinced she’s taken care of the political threat of the secret circle allegations. She may also be counting it as an opportunity to rally conservatives and rescue her sinking approval ratings. We’re already seeing signs that the administration plans to pull the reins of “public security politics” even tighter going ahead. But can it really make up for her governance mistakes and give her a fresh start? That looks highly unlikely. One reckless move tends to beget another, and it won’t be long before she‘s stuck in a quagmire even she can’t get out of. If anything’s certain about Park’s future, it’s this: she will go down forever in history with her father as leader who set a milestone in reversing democracy.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

Former South Korea presidential aide indicted over 'fake' document

SEOUL: A former aide to South Korean President Park Geun-Hye has been charged with leaking a document on the president's personal life which triggered defamation suits against domestic and foreign media, prosecutors said today. 

The internal presidential office document claimed that another former Park aide, Jeong Yun-Hoe, meddled in state affairs by receiving regular briefings from presidential officials despite having no official position in th .. 

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/45760739.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

"Today Is the Day Democracy Is Murdered": Wave of Repression Sweeps South Korea

"Today Is the Day Democracy Is Murdered":
Wave of Repression Sweeps South Korea
by Gregory Elich

On December 19, the South Korean Constitutional Court delivered a devastating blow against the progressive movement when it disbanded theUnified Progressive Party (UPP) with immediate effect.  That act came as the culmination of a long campaign by South Korean President Park Geun-hye to shackle the labor movement and smash political opposition.

The Constitutional Court case was initiated over a year ago when the Ministry of Justice filed a petition with the court to ban the UPP.  The pretext for the petition was the arrest of six prominent members of the UPP on the charge of plotting a rebellion to overthrow the government.  As evidence, the government offered a speech National Assembly representative Lee Seok-ki delivered to fellow UPP members, which was recorded by a turncoat acting as a spy for the National Intelligence Service (NIS).  The NIS released to the media a transcript of the speech that it had substantially altered, replacing ordinary words and phrases with inflammatory rhetoric.  By attributing words to Lee that he had never spoken, the NIS succeeded in whipping up hostility against the UPP.

The trial of Lee Seok-ki and his five colleagues was notable for the prosecution's distortions and fanciful testimony.  It was clear that the state's star witness had concocted the entire scenario of rebellion from his imagination and unsupported supposition.  The lack of evidence to back the prosecution's case was no impediment for the staunchly conservative judge, however, and he found all six defendants guilty of plotting rebellion.  The case was appealed to the High Court, which ruled that it could not conclude that the defendants had plotted a rebellion.  The defendants were nevertheless found guilty of "incitement" and for having violated the vaguely worded National Security Law, resulting in only a modest reduction of their prison terms.  The case is now before the Supreme Court, which is expected to issue a ruling within weeks.

The timing of the initial accusation and publication of the fabricated transcript of Lee Seok-ki's speech came at a decisive moment in the Korean political scene.  One revelation after another had been appearing in the press, showing that the National Intelligence Service had persistently and extensively interfered in the 2012 electoral campaign.  The NIS sought to sway the election by flooding the Internet with postings and tweets that defamed liberal and progressive candidates and praised conservatives, all done under the guise of originating from private citizens.

With each passing week, mass demonstrations in downtown Seoul swelled ever larger in size, denouncing the NIS for its interference in the electoral process.  The Unified Progressive Party and its allies spearheaded these demonstrations, earning the undying enmity of the conservative ruling party.

The demonstrations placed the ruling party in an embarrassing position.  It struck back by launching a campaign of lies against the UPP, which succeeded in driving a wedge between the progressive movement and liberals, and brought the demonstrations against the NIS to a halt.  Public attention was diverted from the record of NIS malfeasance.

In its decision, the Constitutional Court ruled that the UPP had a "hidden objective of realizing North Korean-style socialism" and presented a "substantial threat to society."  The court declared that the party "aims to accomplish progressive democracy through violence."  UPP members, it added, are "followers of North Korea, and the progressive democracy they pursue is overall the same or very similar to the North's revolutionary strategy against South Korea in almost all respects."

Those assertions were wholly unsupported by the evidence and reflected the conservative-dominated court's antipathy towards the ideals espoused by the UPP.  Nothing in the party's history or record backed the court's claims.

Like many other Koreans across a broad political spectrum, the Unified Progressive Party wished for "peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula," as the party program expresses it.  This widespread and non-controversial sentiment hardly makes the UPP "followers of North Korea."

The Unified Progressive Party aimed to create "a people-centered world by being on the ground with the working class."  Its program called for "non-discrimination and labor rights" and a half tuition fee for students.  In support of farmers, it advocated implementation of a government purchasing policy on agricultural products.  On behalf of working people, the party called for "youth employment through a youth employment quota" and a halt to privatization of government entities.  Only during an era dominated by neoliberal hegemony could such goals be considered a threat to society.

The forced disbanding of the UPP casts the party's 100,000-some members and its many followers adrift, without political representation.  As UPP chairwoman Lee Jung-hee put it during her final testimony before the Constitutional Court: "The government's attempt to dissolve the UPP is not just about determining the fate of the party or its representatives.  It's about depriving workers, farmers, and the common people -- who, by voting for the UPP, wanted to be equal owners of Korea -- of their right to vote and freedom of political opinion."

"The government's key argument is that the UPP -- after achieving confederation-model unification -- will opt for North Korean-style socialism," Lee continued.  "This is baseless speculation.  North Korean socialism is a system designed for North Korea and cannot be a system for South Korea.  The government says that having an omnipotent supreme leader is at the heart of North Korean socialism.  There is no reason for the people of South Korea, who rejected the prolonged Yushin dictatorship of Park Chung-hee and the indirect election system of the Chun Doo-hwan regime, and waged the Kwangju People's Uprising and the June Uprising to achieve direct elections and single-term presidency, to throw away these achievements and choose to follow an omnipotent supreme leader.  The majority of the UPP's staff and members participated in and dedicated themselves to these democratic struggles, and the party's platform clearly states that the UPP follows the tradition of these struggles."

As the Constitutional Court announced its verdict against the UPP, defense lawyer Kwon Young-guk stood up and exclaimed: "Today is the day democracy is murdered.  History will rule on this verdict."  In what would prove symbolic of the government's attitude as a whole towards progressives, security guards swarmed over Kwon, covering his mouth so that he could not speak, and dragged him out of court.

With the decision banning the party in effect, the witch hunt against progressives is on.  The party was directed to relinquish its government subsidies, and all of its assets have been frozen.  All five party members who held seats in the National Assembly were removed from office.  The National Election Commission then stripped six UPP officials of their seats on local councils.

A right-wing civic group filed a complaint against the UPP with the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office, asking for the arrest of all 100,000-some members of the party for violating the National Security Law.  It reveals the malevolence of the government vendetta against the UPP that such an outrageous complaint was accepted and is being pursued.  The Public Security office has begun an investigation to determine if the UPP "aided the enemy," and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Security Unit is handling the investigation of individuals.  Although it is not likely that the entire membership will be arrested, the investigation will probably sweep up a great many of the most active.

Meanwhile, police raided the offices of the progressive organization Corea Alliance, as well as the homes of nine of its members.  Attorney Jang Kyung-wook, who successfully defended a client against the charge of violating the National Security Law, has come under police investigation.  Police searched the offices of his group, Lawyers for a Democratic Society.  Jang is under investigation for having spoken to a North Korean representative at a seminar in Germany.  "Am I not supposed to go to an international seminar I've been invited to if a North Korean also participates?" Jang wondered.

Similarly, police struck at the home and church of a pastor who had had a conversation with the North Korean representative at the same seminar.  The police regarded his innocuous conversation as a violation of the National Security Law's restriction against "meeting, correspondence, or coordination with the enemy."

Months before the dissolution of the UPP, the Ministry of Justice announced a plan to have legislation passed that would grant it authority to disband what it termed "anti-state" groups.  "The UPP is just the tip of the iceberg," one Justice Ministry official disclosed, adding that there are many individuals and groups that the ministry wanted to go after.  The initial raids on the homes and offices of progressives mark only the beginning.  Attacks on progressives are sure to mount in the coming months.

The government has already gone after the labor movement, banning the teachers' union and refusing to recognize the government employees' union.  One year ago, several hundred police stormed the headquarters of theKorean Confederation of Trade Unions, detaining around 130 people.  Six union officials were arrested on the charge of supporting a strike by railway workers.

President Park Geun-hye is calling for "reform" of the labor market as "an urgent and important task."  Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan reproached workers for being "overprotected."  The solution, as the government sees it, is to bring "flexibility" to the entire labor force, allowing companies a freer hand in adjusting wages downward and setting schedules.  The Federation of Korean Trade Unions condemns the plan as a "gift set for capitalists" and pointed out that it would only "produce low-quality jobs."

The ruling Saenuri Party is taking steps to ensure that progressives can never again run for electoral office.  UPP members are already banned from creating another progressive party.  A conservative assemblyman has drawn up a bill that would prevent anyone having belonged to the UPP from running for office for the next ten years.  The Ministry of Justice is planning to draw up legislation that would prohibit the creation of a political party with a program similar to the UPP.  If that legislation passes, it will make it illegal for any political party to advocate a progressive program on behalf of working people.

During the 2012 election, the Unified Progressive Party joined in an electoral alliance with the mainstream Democratic United Party (since renamed to the New Politics Alliance for Democracy - NPAD).  Such alliances should be a thing of the past, the ruling party warns.  Saenuri Party spokesperson Park Dae-chul rebuked the NPAD in a dark tone: "The party that formed an alliance with the UPP, and those central to the move, must reflect on their actions."  Saenuri Party Chairman Kim Moo-sung demanded that NPAD "must declare the termination of its ties with the UPP."

If the ruling party believes it can crush the spirit of progressives and silence their voices, then it is seriously mistaken.  Korean activists braved police batons, bullets, imprisonment, and torture to oppose the Yushin dictatorship and bring down military rule.  Their battle to bring democracy to South Korea was an inspiration to fighters for justice throughout the world.

In a heartfelt message to supporters following the Constitutional Court decision, UPP chairwoman Lee Jung-hee said, "The Park Geun-hye administration degraded this country to a dictatorship.  With a judgment that employed fictions and imagination, the court opened the door to totalitarianism.  Beginning today, the doctrines of independence, democracy, equality, peace and unification, and politics for the laborers, farmers, and the people, are banned.  Dark times, where freedom of expression and assembly is completely denied, lie ahead."

"The government in power dissolved the UPP today and will tie down our hands and feet," Lee continued.  "But they cannot dissolve our dream for progressive politics, nurtured in our hearts.  The government banned the platform of self-reliance, democracy, and unification, but it cannot ban our love for the weary and our divided peninsula.  Because they cannot stamp out our dream and love . . . we will not abandon progressive politics."

The Korean progressive movement has a militant spirit second to none.  Do not look for the Western media to report on it, but the Park Geun-hye government can expect to face one hell of a fightback.

---

Gregory Elich is on the Board of Directors of the Jasenovac Research Institute and the Advisory Board of the Korea Policy Institute.  He is a member of the Committee to Defend Democracy in South Korea and a columnist for Voice of the People.  He is also one of the co-authors ofKilling Democracy: CIA and Pentagon Operations in the Post-Soviet Period, published in the Russian language.