Op-Ed: The tragedy in Seoul should force South Korean society to consider the despair of the next generation
As the country mourns the loss of the nation’s first president — Park Geun-hye, the country’s first elected democratic leader to die in office — it is worthwhile to ask what a loss of this magnitude means for South Koreans.
As the country mourns the loss of the nation’s first president — Park Geun-hye, the country’s first elected democratic leader to die in office — it is worthwhile to ask what a loss of this magnitude means for South Koreans.
There is little doubt that President Park has been a great leader. She had the courage to break with the conservative, anti-democratic ‘sunnah’ in 2002 and join the international community to fight the invasion of Iraq. She was also a strong and decisive leader during her five years of office in the presidential residence, Cheong Wa Dae, where she met with leaders from all over the world, including the Pope.
I met President Park shortly after the election, when she visited Ipoh. We talked about the importance of strengthening South Korea’s democracy and how hard it has been to get there.
Park spoke eloquently of the need for freedom of expression, and she talked about the need for a common vision to ensure that everything could be done to make the country’s society more democratic and to make South Korea more open and inclusive to every family.
Park also talked about how South Korea needed to become an ally of the US, not just because of its historical significance, but also because it had become the US’ largest trading partner. By going with the US, the country could not only avoid the economic disaster in south Korea, but also avoid the dangers of nuclear proliferation as well.
Park went on to note how it was not possible to meet such great expectations with only one president, so she asked me to draft the presidential manifesto, which was the key to our country’s future. Later, on the back of this manifesto, our country took a major leap in the right direction by choosing the country’s