South Korea Veers Left

As an act of attempted political suicide, it seemed hard to beat. In the run-up to South Korea's parliamentary elections, Chung Dong Young, chairman of the youthful and liberal Uri Party, advised people in their 60s and 70s to "stay home and rest" instead of voting. As penance, Chung resigned his post as his party's campaign head and went on hunger strike. Yet in a land where political haplessness is increasingly the norm, his gaffe apparently failed to dent the party's standing. Instead, voters last week tripled the size of the Uri Party delegation, to 152, enough for a majority in the 299-seat assembly that has been dominated by a conservative Old Guard for more than four decades.

The Uri Party's resounding victory represents a lifeline for President Roh Moo Hyun, who was impeached by conservative lawmakers last month in a move many voters considered a cynical power play. Roh is currently suspended from office, and his fate rests with the Constitutional Court, which has until September to rule on the matter. Roh's main offense had been to publicly voice his support for Uri, but the judges may view last week's vote as show of support for him, making them unwilling to uphold the impeachment.

Regardless, South Korean politics seem poised for a sharp left turn. Many Uri Party members want more economic aid funneled to North Korea, which could increase friction between Seoul and Washington over how to deal with Pyongyang's nuclear-weapons program. Seoul's plan to send 3,000 troops to Iraq by the end of June could also be in jeopardy. Officially, the Uri Party supported Roh's decision to send Korean troops. But the deployment could now come up for debate again. The Uri Party's parliamentary leader Kim Keun Tae says: "We have to examine carefully whether our decision to send troops to Iraq can serve its initial purpose of preserving peace and reconstructing Iraq." Emboldened by their electoral triumph, the younger generation that has rescued Roh and the Uri Party will now expect to be heard—whether on Iraq and North Korea or on labor issues and women's rights. Says Park Sooni, a 30-year-old English teacher and Uri supporter: "We're taking the lead from now on." After months of mayhem—much of it caused by top politicians like Roh himself—it's time somebody took the lead.