Former President Kim DJ says Korean democracy moving backward

SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Yonhap) -- Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung said on
Thursday the country's democracy is regressing in an apparent jab at the
conservative Lee Myung-bak administration, which has been accused of trying to
gag its opposition "Over the past 50 years, people have died, been tortured and lost their jobs to
build our democracy.

But judging from recent incidents, it seems that our
democracy is moving backward," the former president said in a meeting with
foreign correspondents here.
Kim, 84, did not elaborate on what those incidents were. But when asked what he
thought about the recent arrest of a blogger going by the handle "Minerva," who
has been accused of spreading false rumors that hurt the nation's economy, Kim
said the government may have gone too far.
"I really don't know who this person called 'Minerva' is or what he said. But
based on my common belief, I think the media and scholars are also doing what
this person has been accused of doing," Kim said.
The remarks are the harshest criticism to date from a former head of state
against the Lee Myung-bak government, which marks its first year in office next
month.
"Minerva." whom the prosecution identifies only by his last name Park, was
arrested on Saturday on charges of spreading false information with a harmful
intent. His arrest has infuriated critics of the Lee government, which first
clashed with activists and opponents in spring last year following a deal with
Washington to lift a ban on U.S. beef imports.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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