Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=11/3/2000

TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT

NUMBER=5-47332

TITLE=KOREA / KIM DAE-JUNG

BYLINE=ALISHA RYU

DATELINE=SEOUL

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: South Korean President Kim Dae-jung has recently been receiving much international praise for his crusade to forge peace with communist North Korea. He has just been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing a thaw in the Cold War relations - as well as for his lifetime of achievements as a human rights activist. But as VOA's Alisha Ryu reports from Seoul, some of President Kim's critics at home charge that he is ignoring the domestic agenda in favor of North Korean initiatives.

TEXT: When the people of southern Cholla Province received word on October 20th that their most-beloved hometown politician had won the Nobel Peace Prize, cities and villages erupted in celebration.

/// OPEN FOR SOUNDS OF SHOUTING AND DRUMS BEATING - EST. AND FADE UNDER ///

The Nobel Committee says it honored Kim Dae-jung for his efforts in bringing democracy to South Korea - a country that suffered for decades under military dictatorships. The committee also made a special mention of Mr. Kim's historic visit to North Korea in June which gave impetus to a process of reducing tensions between the Cold War enemies.

To the people of Cholla Province, nationalists, and close associates, Mr. Kim is a bona fide hero - a man who for 30 years has held the same vision of a democratic and a reunified Korea and never waivered in the pursuit of those goals.

Before he was elected president in early 1998, Mr. Kim pledged to enact a so-called "sunshine policy" to engage North Korea as a way to improve relations. Through sheer perseverance, he arranged an historic summit with the reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in June that subsequently led to reunions of families separated during the Korean War. The meeting also led to agreements on new road and rail links between the two countries and the first military-to-military talks since the war ended in 1953 in an armed truce.

Seoul shopkeeper Kim Jung-nam says by becoming South Korea's first Nobel laureate, President Kim has brought enormous prestige to the nation.

/// KIM ACT ///

For a long time, we have been longing for a Nobel prize and at last we got one. Yes, I am very happy.

/// END ACT ///

College student Yi Min-joo agrees the Nobel Peace prize is an honor for all South Koreans.

//Yi ACT //

I am not sure how important it is to the individual but perhaps from a diplomatic point of view, it must be very important.

/// END ACT ///

But even as most southerners bask in the Nobel glory and the idea of a rapproachment with the North, some are beginning to voice criticisms about Mr. Kim's priorities as a leader.

Domestic critics say that the president has been so preoccupied with expanding ties with Pyongyang that he has all but ignored a looming economic crisis in the South. They say the country - which had been clawing its way out of the 1997 Asian financial crisis - is on the brink of a second economic crisis as some of South Korea's largest conglomerates continue to teeter under heavy debt loads. The country's largest chaebol - Hyundai - is in serious financial trouble. Yet the company is still pouring funds into money-losing ventures in North Korea. Critics charge the government is encouraging Hyundai to expand the North's infrastructure practically at the cost of the South Korean economy.

Political professor Lee Jung-hoon at Yonsei University in Seoul says Kim Dae-jung's economic achievements in the past two years have been minimal compared to his foreign policy record.

/// LEE ACT ///

There are major issues to be dealt with domestically and they need to be dealt with very quickly. We are talking about reforms. This is something this government has promised. But it has delayed the process and the reform has not been institutionalized - to a point where people are now talking about the second coming of the financial crisis.

/// END ACT ///

Min Jee - who works as a secretary for one of the troubled conglomerates - says she is worried that President Kim is not putting enough priority on the faltering economy.

/// MIN ACT ///

In a way, we are happy because we finally got one person who won the Nobel prize. But from another point of view, it seems like he was focused on winning this prize, talking about North and South Korea, without thinking about our economic crisis.

/// END ACT ///

The government says it is now moving more aggressively toward reform. The Financial Supervisory Service (F-S-S) - a regulatory body - says that banks will evaluate all ailing companies with the worst cases considered for liquidation or sale. Most banks are struggling to reform their own weak balance sheets and are becoming more reluctant to support sick companies. Traditionally, banks loaned money indiscriminately as a way to preserve jobs and production.

But the government's regulatory body itself is currently under investigation for a loan scandal. The scandal - which surrounds allegations that a venture capitalist received a large sum of illegal loans with the help of the F-S-S and close associates of President Kim - is threatening to further slow-down the reform process and taint the image of the Kim government.

Mr. Kim has denied any involvement in the scandal and has vowed to find out the truth. But his aides say he is worried that the scandal may overshadow his plans to put a positive focus back on the economy. And with just two more years left in his presidency, he must move quickly. Otherwise, his legacy as a failed reformer may overshadow his achievement as an international statesman at home. (Signed)

NEB/HK/AR/JO