Seoul (AsiaNews) The upcoming elections (Apr. 15) and the shock of the president's impeachment seem to have inspired a wave of positive energy and catharsis in the world of politics. The protagonists of such movements are women and youth.
South Korean youth have inspired the incredible growth of the Uri party, the one favoring the impeached President Roh Moo-hyun. Women, on the other hand, are positively influencing the whole of Parliament.
The chairmen of the two major opposition parties, willingly or not, have stepped down from their top roles and in their places two women have been chosen: Choo Mi-ae (Democratic Millenium Party) and Park Geun-hye (Grand National Party). The first is called "the Korean Joan of Arc" for her firmness of conviction and hard-headedness in carrying her ideas out. It is likely, however, that her first great battle will also be her last: her party, having lost the reforming character of its early days, is on the brink of sinking into oblivion.
Traditional voters of the conservative party look to the second woman protagonist, instead, with eyes of hope. Park Geun-hye is the first-born daughter of deceased former President Park Chung-hee, who from 1963 to 1979, ruled the country with an iron grip; yet South Korea owes its economy rebirth to this former president.
Apparently there is no reason to doubt the democratic convictions of his daughter, who inherited her leadership capacity from Park Chung-hee.
The current unpopularity of Park's party is due to the corruption of many of its members. Therefore Park has not hesitated to make loud proclamations of reform before the entire nation in a quasi "religious" fashion. After visiting a Buddhist temple and Presbyterian church Park, a Catholic, went to Seoul's downtown cathedral for confession. It is hoped that her repentance was not merely symbolic. (PC)
