Grand National Party Spokesman Nam Kyung-pil, citing the fact that Millennium Democratic Party presidential candidate Roh Moo-hyun's support in the Honam area was between 70 to 90 percent, while Lee Hoi-chang's was one to three percent, said Roh would get more that Kim Dae-jung's record 95 percent of votes there five years ago.

Lee's comments were meant as a warning against regionalism, but could be seen as calculated ones designed to force his colleagues to react in a regional manner, revitalizing the Korean disease. The MDP is not much different in the sense that it has the strategy of defending its area and attacking others. On November 19 in Busan appealed to voters saying he was a son of the city and Kyongnam.

It may be difficult for politicians to disregard the realistic power of regionalism during elections, but the people are fed up with this and want know more in this presidential race, which concludes the "Three Kims" era. Of course politicians are saying they will do this, but cannot abandon the profits of it. They have learned from experience that provoking regionalism generates criticism, but also more votes.

The signs of reemerging regionalism, at the start of the campaign, leaves us with the uneasy feeling that the upcoming election is devoid of the culture and awareness fit to electing the first president in the twenty-first century. If the election is compromised by regionalism politics will have retreated into the past no matter who is elected. November 28, 2002