Korea's Presidential Election - Part IV: The Road Ahead

Having discussed the three major candidates, this part of the series will discuss what is ahead for each candidate (and a former candidate) in the presidential race, which is now less than three weeks away.

Ahn Cheol-soo

Previously, Moon Jae-in and Ahn Cheol-soo had agreed to unify their candidacy to create a single progressive candidate. Since then, the two candidates held and broke off several rounds of negotiations regarding the methodology of the unification. Finally, on November 23, 2012, Ahn abruptly withdrew his candidacy, ceding the progressive candidacy to Democratic United Party's Moon Jae-in.

As far as political aesthetics go, Ahn's move was an inspired one. Ahn's greatest asset as a politician was his image as the new breed of politician, heroically appearing to breathe a fresh air into the old politics. Ahn had no choice but to unite his candidacy -- otherwise, Moon and Ahn would split the progressive votes, guaranteeing Park Geun-hye's victory. But as Ahn grappled with Moon to negotiate the unification of the slate, the value of his prime asset -- i.e. the image -- began to erode. Fighting for every inch of advantage in the proposed mini-primary was the opposite of the "new politics". So was Ahn's attempt to court the DUP Assembly Members and supporters away from Moon. Ahn's numbers began to sink, and he was projecting to lose against Moon in the head-to-head battle. Even if Ahn managed to prevail over Moon, it would be a Pyrrhic victory -- by the time he would face Park Geun-hye, Ahn would have squandered away his prime political asset.

Faced with two unsavory choices, Ahn chose to sublimate. Ahn would not squander away his chief political asset to achieve an intermediate victory that may well turn out to doom his presidential run in the end, nor would he quietly lose to Moon and have a number attached to the margin of his loss. Instead, he would restore the damage that his asset has taken in the last two months -- he would withdraw, cleanly and without making a fuss, and declare his support for Moon Jae-in.

Although Ahn withdrew, his influence remains quite relevant. We have already witnessed his ability to serve as a king-maker -- Ahn did make Park Won-soon, a candidate with around 5% support, into a 53.4%-garnering juggernaut. Ahn did express his support for Moon Jae-in, but how Ahn will express that support going forward may just decide the election.

(More after the jump.)

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

AAK! PSA: Red Maria

Below is an interesting event in Seoul:

[Red Maria <레드마리아> film screening 상영회 + Q&A with Director Kyung Soon 경순 감독과의 대화]

★ YOU MUST RSVP via Email: womens.global.solidarity@gmail.com ★

In Korea, Japan and The Philippines, there are many women with diverse jobs and her stories. Among them, this film focuses on women who are called housewives, sex workers, dispatched workers, migrant workers, comfort women, homeless and so on. The camera tracks them as they go about their everyday lives. These women have never met one another, and their lives look quite different from one another. However, their lives are connected across national borders by the one thing they have in common. That's their bodies and labor. How can such different forms of labor be linked to the women's bodies in such a similar way? As we search for answers to this question, we are forced to confront another question: 'the meaning of labor' as an ideology that is reproduced in society.

* Entrance Fee: by donation at the door

* Languages: Korean, Japanese, Tagalog and English with English subtitles

* Naver map: http://me2.do/GDOEbSP

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/370272919729052/

The screening will be held at the Columban Mission Center.
Please note the center is very close to exit 4, and not on the University's campus.

To get to the center:
1) Take line 4 to the Sungshin Women's University Entrance 성신여자대학교입구) stop.
2) Go out exit 4 and a building with a traditional Korean roof (hanok) will be in front of you.
3) Go into the building and up to the second floor.

★ Due to a limited number of seats, you must RSVP to womens.global.solidarity@gmail.com and you will receive confirmation when your seat has been reserved.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

Korea's Presidential Election - Part III: Ahn Cheol-soo

Part III of this series will discuss Ahn Cheol-soo, an independent candidate.

Ahn Cheol-soo (Independent)

Ahn Cheol-soo [안철수]
(source)

Ahn Cheol-soo was born in 1962, which makes him around ten years younger than both Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in. That fact, coupled with Ahn's biography, puts Ahn in a fundamentally different position from both Park and Moon. Unlike Park and Moon, Ahn is not tethered to Korea's tortured past of the 1970s -- which is one of the reasons why he has enjoyed such massive popularity as an independent.

Ahn was born in Busan. Ahn's childhood was unremarkable, which is actually remarkable for a middle-aged Korean. In the tumultuous times of Korea in the 1960s and 70s, few in Korea had a normal childhood. Recall that Park Geun-hye lost both her parents to political assassination, or that Moon Jae-in grew up in dire poverty in a Korean War refugee camp. In contrast, Ahn's youth had no drama. Ahn's father was a doctor who had (and still has) a small medical office in Busan. Ahn grew up living a comfortable but not lavish life, as a bookish student.

Ahn began his career as a research doctor after having graduated from Seoul National University school of medicine in 1986. Only four years later, he would serve as a dean of Danguk University school of medicine at age 27, the youngest dean in Korean higher education history. Ahn's research focus was in irregular heartbeat.

(More after the jump)

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

Korea's Presidential Election - Part II: Moon Jae-in

Part II of this series will discuss Moon Jae-in, candidate from the Democratic United Party.

Moon Jae-in (Democratic United Party)
 

Moon Jae-in [문재인]
(source)

Moon Jae-in is one of the two chief rivals against Park Geun-hye in the upcoming presidential election. And like Park, Moon's political identity is tied to a polarizing figure of the past -- i.e. his old boss and closest friend, former president Roh Moo-hyun.

Moon is a National Assemblyman of the Democratic United Party, the progressive minority party of the National Assembly. He represents Busan's Sasang-gu. Moon Jae-in was born in 1953 in Geoje, an island in the southeastern coast of Korea. Moon was born in a refugee camp toward the end of Korean War. (Moon's parents was from Heungnam, North Korea.) His family later moved to Busan, where Moon spent most of his childhood.

The seeds of Moon's entry into politics were sown the same way as most progressive politicians of Korea -- as a student activist. Moon entered Kyunghee University in 1972, when the tyranny of Park Chung-hee dictatorship reached its height. In October 17, 1972, Park declared martial law; two months later, Park unveiled the new "constitution" that essentially made him a lifetime president who can disband the legislature and suspend constitutional protections at any time. As one of the leaders of Kyunghee's student government, Moon organized and led protests against Park Chung-hee's dictatorship. For his activism, Moon was arrested and imprisoned numerous times.

Moon passed the bar in 1980. (He learned that he passed in the bar while being held in prison.) In 1982, he graduated second in class from the Judicial Training and Research Institute, which meant that he should have been appointed as a judge. But the court -- under the thumb of Chun Doo-hwan dictatorship at the time -- passed on Moon due to his history of activism. Moon would then enter into private practice by joining a law office in Busan. The managing partner of the law office was a man named Roh Moo-hyun.

At the beginning of his practice, Roh was a tax attorney who earned enough for a very comfortable life. (His hobbies included yachting.) But by the time Moon joined the firm, Roh was considered one of the leading legal minds for the democratization movements, thanks to his pro bono representation of 22 Busan-area activists who were beaten, waterboarded and electrocuted for as long as 63 days. With Roh Moo-hyun, Moon Jae-in primarily represented democracy and labor activists. Even after Roh entered into politics in 1988, Moon took over the practice and continued to work as a civil rights attorney. Although Roh pestered Moon for more than a decade to join him in politics, Moon did not enter into politics until 2002, when Roh was elected president. Moon joined Roh Moo-hyun's Blue House, eventually serving as Roh's chief of staff.

After the rocky presidency of Roh ended in 2007, Moon returned to his law practice. When Roh committed suicide in 2009, Moon directed Roh's funeral, and later chaired the Roh Moo-hyun memorial foundation. In 2011, Moon published a very well-received autobiography, Moon Jae-in's Destiny [문재인의 운명]. Finally, in April 2012, Moon officially entered into popular politics by winning a National Assembly seat. Despite being a relative newcomer, Moon swept the DUP's presidential primaries, muscling aside the grizzled veterans of progressive electoral veterans.

As evident from Moon's biography, Moon's political identity is inseparable from Roh Moo-hyun. And as with his rival Park Geun-hye, this association both benefits and damages Moon's candidacy because, as with Park Chung-hee, Roh Moo-hyun was a polarizing figure.

If one measured Korea's presidents only by the capacity to cause polarizing reactions, Roh's presidency is right up there with Park Chung-hee's dictatorship. With his charisma and speech-making abilities, Roh inspired a passionate group of supporters who eventually made him president. (Roh Moo-hyun was likely the first Korean politician to have a self-generated fan club.) Yet through his rash and divisive governing style that demonized his opponents, Roh created an equal number of opponents who passionately revile him. Roh is almost certainly the most hated president among the Korea's right-leaning voters. Even among many left-leaning voters, Roh is not fondly regarded because of his political tactics that excluded a broader spectrum of Korea's left in favor of dedicated followers, somewhat like the way in which the smaller Tea Party managed to set the direction for the U.S. Republican Party.

This is the political landscape that Moon Jae-in is facing: passionate opposition from conservatives who see him as Roh Moo-hyun's heir, and mostly lukewarm support from his progressive base. This is the greatest reason why Ahn Cheol-soo -- the subject of the next part -- has been able to create such a sensation.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

Korea's Presidential Election - Part I: Park Geun-hye

Dear Korean,

Can you explain a little bit about the current Korean presidential election, mainly about the candidates running today? What are the problems S.Korean citizens are most concerned about and should be concerned about as well as the candidates' positions on those issues. And who would you prefer, if you do care?

Paul K.

Korea's presidential election is now approximately 40 days away, and exciting times are ahead. First, if you are completely unfamiliar with the general landscape of Korean politics, the Korean would recommend reading this post first for an introduction.

Let's address Paul's question in reverse order. What are the biggest issues at hand for the upcoming presidential election? Interestingly, this election has been a relative anomaly because there has not been a big campaign promise that is dividing the electorate. For example, in 2002, the winning candidate Roh Moo-hyun promised that he would move the capital away from Seoul to promote balanced regional growth. In 2007, the winning candidate Lee Myung-bak promised that he would construct a Grand Canal that would make transportation more efficient. Each promise was controversial, and Korean electorate spent a great deal of time debating them.

This time around? Not as much. To be sure, there currently is a very strong policy demand from Korea's electorate -- namely, expansion of the welfare state. But the demand is so strong that even the conservative candidate, who might oppose such initiative under regular circumstances, is promising free childcare for children between ages of 0 and 5, increased welfare payments for the disabled, expansion of public housing, etc. While there are certainly differences in the specifics of the campaign promises from each candidate, it is fair to say that the campaign promises are at least directionally the same. Thus, the current election is driven more by the personalities of the candidates, and the standing ideologies that they represent, rather than any particular policy ideas. Which is just as well, because each candidate in the running are extremely interesting in his/her own way.

Thus, this series will examine the three major candidates currently running in the presidential election, and what the standing ideologies that they represent. As of now, the three major candidates are:  Park Geun-hye of the conservative New Frontier Party, which is the majority party of the National Assembly and the current holder of the Blue House; Moon Jae-in of the progressive Democratic United Party, the minority party of the National Assembly, and; independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, a Seoul National University professor who made a fortune through a start-up anti-virus software company. Then the series will conclude by giving the current state of play.

At this point, full disclosure:  the Korean supports Moon Jae-in of the DUP. Each part of this series will examine each major candidate. At the end of the series, the Korean will briefly explain why he supports Moon. First up is Park Geun-hye, after the jump.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

Looking for Someone?

Dear Korean,

How do I go about finding someone in Korea? I only have a name, and what he used to be back in the 1980's. Any help would be much appreciated.

F.V.

This is a very frequent question for which the Korean has no good answer. Just think about the absurdity of the question -- how can F.V. seriously expect to find someone with just a name, from the 1980s? It is not as if the Korean knows everyone in Korea across all time and space. Yet this type of questions continue to come in.

The Korean suspects that part of the reason why this question is so frequent is because people often do not realize is just how populous Korea is. Korea is a country with 50 million people. It has more people than Spain, Argentina, Poland or Canada, just to give a few examples. Finding one person among the 50 million will not be easy.

Short of hiring a private detective in Korea, there is no "good" -- as in, high-percentage -- way to find someone in Korea. If one is willing to try even a very low percentage shot, the best option for someone living outside of Korea is, in fact, Facebook, as approximately 8 million Koreans are on Facebook now. But it would be wise not to get your hopes up.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.