SOUTH KOREA: Normality

Business as usual in Seoul

Once the initial shock of the assassination had passed and the period of national mourning was over, South Koreans made a surprising and pleasant discovery: the country was actually getting along quite well without the late President Park Chung Hee. "Why, it's beautiful," said a young schoolteacher, Kim Sung Ho. "Our country runs itself."

Well, not quite. Still, Park had totally dominated the country for 18 years, and many citizens had feared his abrupt death would spell instant chaos. Yet there had been no panic, no runs on banks, no scrambles to hoard food. Instead, the prosperous capital city of Seoul (pop. 8 million) quickly pulsated back to normal life. The economy, despite 20% inflation, continued to chug along toward a record export target of $15.5 billion this year.

How to account for the country's business-as-usual atmosphere? Said the commander of U.S. forces in Korea, General John Wickham Jr.: "It demonstrates the maturity of the Korean people." A Korean business tycoon speculated: "With our TVs, refrigerators and all, so many of us now consider ourselves the middle class —the backbone of the country—that we knew we couldn't afford to go to pieces over Mr. Park's tragedy and possibly invite another North Korean invasion."

Few were willing to express comparable confidence about the country's political future. The question of succession was still unanswered. Acting President Choi Kyu Hah, 60, plunged into interminable rounds of talks with military leaders and key ministers, reportedly in search of a succession formula. The two main contenders for the presidency, former Premiers Kim Jong Pil, 53, and Chung II Kwon, 61, were believed to be trying to drum up support, but thus far strictly behind the scenes.

At week's end Choi announced that a presidential election would be held by next Jan. 26, as provided by Park's constitution. He added that the new President should then amend that constitution and call for fresh, unfettered elections.

What Choi clearly envisions is a sort of caretaker presidency, and some observers expected that he might choose to run.

The government's numerous and conflicting stories about the assassination resembled a political drama concocted by the author of Rashomon. Last week martial law investigators issued what they called their "final" report. It concluded that Korean Central Intelligence Agency Director Kim Jae Kyu had killed Park because Kim had wild fantasies that he himself should be President. The report exonerated the military of any involvement in Kim's coup attempt; it also credited the martial law commander, Army Chief of Staff General Chung Seung Hwa, 53, with foiling the plot by arresting Kim and the other murderers. The investigation was evidently continuing. The day after the report was issued, Kim was taken to the scene of the crime by his interrogators to reconstruct his actions.