(EDITORIAL from the Korea Times on May 25)

Death of ex-president: It's time to find ways of ending tragic legacy

``Both life and death are just a part of nature ... It's all fate." These words
are part of what former President Roh Moo-hyun said in his suicide note before
claiming his own life Saturday. All humans are mortal, but killing themselves is
against nature.

He might have known this better than anyone else. And why did he
commit suicide? This question appears to be meaningless, taking into account his
emotional suffering from the bribery scandal surrounding him, his family and
confidants.
Roh's death is more than a shock and tragedy to the country, as he is the first
former president to end his life at his own hands. First we extend our sincere
and deep condolences to not only his bereaved family and the entire nation that
is in grief over the loss of its retired leader. It's time to mourn and pray for
the repose of the deceased. That is why the Ministry of Justice immediately
decided to end investigations into the corruption case.
Despite his alleged involvement in the scandal, he should be remembered as one of
the political leaders who devoted themselves to democracy and national
development. We have to re-evaluate Roh's achievements as a lawyer advocating
human rights and a liberal politician trying to bring changes to established
politics. It is really regrettable that he passed away before seeing his dream
come true.

Roh's Political Footprint

Roh, 62, left an indelible political footprint behind him. He was long portrayed
as a maverick politician who struggled against corruption, social polarization
and regional antagonism. He won the 2002 presidential election with a promise to
usher in clean politics and a transparent society. But he could not overcome the
typical weakness of a self-made man ??? self-righteousness and arrogance ???
during his five-year term that ended in February 2008.
Roh's strength was his moral integrity that made him stand firm against political
skullduggery, wrongdoings, corruption and dog-eat-dog partisan struggles. He made
his debut as a politician in the late 1980s under the auspices of then-opposition
leader Kim Young-sam who became president in 1993. Roh was elected lawmaker in a
Busan district in 1988. And he emerged as a star politician, aided by his
remarkable performance at a National Assembly special committee investigating the
wrongdoings and misdeeds committed by former President Chun Doo-hwan.
But he bolted from Kim's party in 1990 because it merged with the then-ruling
party, calling the merger a ``political conspiracy" that betrayed the will of the
people. Following this, Roh took a thorny road without making any compromises.
His perseverance and strong moral standards allowed him to win the 2002
presidential election. Public expectations were high for his pledges to bring a
big change to ``dirty politics."
It is ironic that Roh's arrogance and self-righteousness boomeranged against him
as he allegedly took more than $6 million from his financial supporter Park
Yeon-cha, the scandal-ridden CEO of the Busan-based shoemaker Taekwang, in 2007.
His morality was severely bruised due to the bribery scandal. And people's anger
became all the more intense because he just told lies about the case in a
desperate bid to avoid criminal charges.

Reform and Change

Most people wanted to see Roh as the first president who was not implicated in a
bribery case surrounding himself or his family members. But he failed to meet
their expectations by reneging on his much-vowed campaign against corruption. In
a nutshell, he only proved that it was impossible for any president to be
corruption-free.
Now, he has gone. But he bequeathed a tragic legacy to the nation. Thus, we have
to learn a lesson from his death. It is imperative to make every effort to put a
full-stop to the vicious cycle of corruption and wrongdoings. In order to prevent
the repetition of such a tragedy, it is necessary to properly check the unlimited
presidential power that tends to become corrupt too easily.
Therefore, we should no longer delay badly needed political reform to set up a
democratic system of checks and balances. We also need to create a new political
culture based on dialog, compromise, consensus, reconciliation and harmony.
Politicians are required to restore the public trust by striving to establish a
government of the people, by the people and for the people.
It is sad to think that the death of the former President has mirrored our stark
reality and political immaturity. Some critics have accused the prosecution of
putting too much pressure on Roh in a politically motivated investigation against
him. It is time for the prosecution and the media to humbly accept criticism that
they had done little to respect the honor of the former head of state. Let us
pray for Roh so that he may rest in peace.
(END)