South Korea Comes of Age

South Korea’s democracy has reached the point at which protests occur at the ballot box rather than in the streets. The country rid itself of rule by generals less than two decades ago, but the calm acceptance of the impeachment of President Roh Moo Hyun and his recent reinstatement demonstrate a reassuring familiarity with rule by law rather than bayonet.

The National Assembly’s quarrel with Roh escalated out of all proportion this year and never should have resulted in impeachment.

His conservative opponents in the legislature claimed that Roh’s remarks in a television interview violated election laws on presidential neutrality. The foes demanded an apology, the president refused and the snowball kept rolling downhill.

After the impeachment forced Roh to let Prime Minister Ko Kon serve as acting president, elections for the National Assembly gave voters a chance for revenge. Roh’s supporters won a convincing victory; South Korea will be dominated by leftist parties, for the first time, when the new legislature takes office Tuesday. Little more than a week ago, the Constitutional Court delivered the opinion everyone expected: The impeachment was unjustified.

What’s left of the conservative caucus in the legislature will have to find a way to get along with the president if its members want to retain their seats. But Roh should also be more willing to listen to his opponents, especially on the economy. Seoul will need a Plan B if China, South Korea’s largest trading partner, follows up on its intention to slow its explosive growth.

Roh has worked to improve relations with Washington and to overcome his pre-presidency reputation as anti-American. Roh took in stride the announcement last week that 3,600 of the 37,000 U.S. troops in South Korea would be transferred to Iraq. South Korea has sent more than 400 army medics and engineers to Iraq, and Roh has promised 3,200 more. How he balances leftist supporters’ demands that he not send additional soldiers against conservatives’ insistence that he live up to his agreement with the United States may indicate how much of a political lesson impeachment has taught him.