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The Korean political sector has kept a close eye on the results of the U.S. presidential election and analyzed the outcome¡¯s effects on Korean-U.S. relations and the situation on the Korean Peninsula all day long Wednesday. The ruling Uri Party and main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) said that no matter who wins the election, there would be no basic changes in relations between Seoul and Washington, while the ruling party¡¯s younger representatives who are in their 30s, entered college in the 1980s and were born in the 1960s (i.e., the "386 generation"), expressed their disappointment over President Bush's lead.
Cheong Wa Dae has continuously prepared various scenarios about the result of the election, but it is very cautious about revealing its official position.
Even as a Bush re-election looks likely, presidential spokesperson Kim Jong-min said Choeng Wa Dae would comment on the election after the loser officially announces his defeat.
Cheong Wa Dae officials generally consider that whoever wins the election, Korean-U.S. relations would not drastically change. Many presidential office officials think if President Bush succeeds in being re-elected, relations between Seoul and Washington would be stable. Cheong Wa Dae has begun preparation work in earnest for a Korean-U.S. summit during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summits held in Santiago, Chile, from Nov.20 to 21, as it has concluded that the summit would serve as a watershed in settling the North Korean nuclear weapons program issue if President Bush were re-elected.
The ruling Uri party¡¯s lawmakers have officially said that whoever wins, Washington¡¯s policies toward Korea would not differ much. Rep. Chae Soo-chan, who worked as a professor in the U.S., said that if President Bush were reelected, he would adopt flexible policies toward North Korea thanks to his experiences gained during his first term. It is possible that the problem over North Korea¡¯s nuclear weapons program would be peacefully resolved if the situation in Iraq were stabilized, he said. Rep. Ahn Young-geun said that it was difficult to predict the result of the U.S presidential election, but if Bush were reelected, Washington¡¯s working-level foreign affair officials in charge of Korea would not be replaced, which would be beneficial for Korea.
On the other hand, among younger lawmakers (i.e., the "386 generation), there was considerable disappointment when it became apparent that the vote tally might favor Bush. Rep. Chung Bong-ju said, "A Bush re-election would give wings to hardline conservatives in the United States." Rep. Song Young-gil said, "I'm disappointed as I hoped Bush would be evaluated for his mistaken war in Iraq."
The Grand National Party decided that once the election result was decided, it would strive to recover trust in the Korea-U.S. relationship by sending a party delegation to the United States and other measure. Party spokesperson Lim Tae-hee said, "When the U.S. presidential election concludes, U.S. policy toward the Korean Peninsula will likely hit a swift current¡¦ Through party discussions, we will lay out plans to strengthen our diplomacy toward the United States."
Rep. Park Jin said, "At this juncture, the most important thing is to recover trust between the U.S. and Korean leaderships... Only by doing this can we dispose of issues like the North Korean nuclear problem and North Korean defectors smoothly." He said, "We shall convene a session of the party's international issues committee Thursday morning to analyze the U.S. presidential election result, prepare plans to strengthen the Korea-U.S. relationship and report them to the party leadership."
Rep. Park Hyung-jun said, "There won't be any major changes regardless of who wins, but from our government's position, a Bush re-election could reduce the burden of having to forecast the policies of a new U.S. administration... No matter who wins, the most important thing is to recover trust between Korea and the United States."
(Kim Min-cheol mckim@chosun.com )
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