An odd presidential couple

To describe President Roh Moo-hyun and U.S. President George Bush is to span the breadth of the Pacific Ocean that lies between two countries. Both were born in 1946, but the similarities may end there.
President Roh is a self-made man, a former human-rights lawyer from humble origins who likes to liken himself to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. He was born in a small village near Gimhae in southeastern Gyeongsang province, a son of peach and chicken farmers. Bongha, the village, had a reputation as a place even the magpies avoid ― no food there.
President George W. Bush, the 43d U.S. president, is the son of George H.W. Bush, the 41st. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, one of the richest states in America. Mr. Bush followed in the footsteps of his father from boarding school to Yale University, and entered the oil business before entering politics in 1994, when he was elected governor of Texas. His brother, Jeb Bush, is the governor of Florida.
Mr. Roh is a graduate of Busan Commercial High School, and passed the Korean bar exam in 1975 after self-study; he did not attend college. Serving as a judge and a lawyer, Mr. Roh entered politics in 1988 with the sponsorship of the political boss and future president Kim Young-sam. He was elected to the National Assembly for the United Liberal Party from Busan.
Mr. Bush calls himself a “compassionate conservative” and follows pro-business policies. He favors a large tax cut and faith-based politics. Mr. Roh is pro-labor. He favors decentralized government and equal distribution of wealth in society. A survey by the JoongAng Ilbo in 2002 found Mr. Roh to be the most liberal among presidential candidates and sitting legislators.
Mr. Bush has vowed war on terrorism. Mr. Roh has vowed war against corruption and the domestic press.
Mr. Bush came to the presidency with a reputation as an intellectual lightweight and maladroit speaker. Mr. Roh was known for debating skills and eloquence.
Yet, says Hahm Sung-deuk, professor of presidential studies at Korea University, “I would say that the two are strikingly alike.”
Mr. Hahm bases that judgment on the following analysis: Mr. Bush is a born-again Christian who quit drinking after seeing his sister die from leukemia and with the help of Billy Graham, the U.S. evangelist.
Mr. Roh, humble beginnings notwithstanding, was a high-earning tax lawyer who changed direction in 1980 after he learned of students being tortured during their fight against the Chun Doo Hwan regime. Mr. Roh, a Roman Catholic, though not a regular worshipper, calls the Reverend Song Ki-in his political mentor.
Moreover, Professor Hahm said, “There is no generation gap between the two, as there was between former President Kim Dae-jung and President Bush.”
Another similarity is the strikingly outspoken and straightforward speech of both men. In his quest for Osama Bin Laden, Mr. Bush famously said he wanted him “dead or alive.” Mr. Roh, debating hostile prosecutors on television, told them, “So you want all the cards out on the table, don’t you?”
Both presidents are dogged political fighters. Since the beginning of his career, Mr. Roh has sworn to end regional biases in Korean society. In consecutive elections in 1988 and 1992, Mr. Roh ran for the National Assembly, first with the ruling party and then on the opposition ticket, losing the second election after he broke with Kim Young-sam. He lost a 1995 run for Busan mayor. Three years later he was elected to the National Assembly in a special election in Jongno district in Seoul, but was ousted in 2000 running from Busan. In the latter race, he ran on the ticket of the National Congress for New Politics, Kim Dae-jung’s party and the predecessor of the Millennium Democratic Party. Mr. Kim was a political boss from the Jeolla provinces before he became president.
After his second defeat, Mr. Roh began gathering support through Internet communities. One online group was called Nosamo, “People Who Love Roh Moo-hyun.” These groups carried him to a win in the 2002 presidential election. His supporters are young and are mainly Internet-savvy Koreans who want a new broom.
President Bush’s world view has been described as “Manichean”; he sees a world divided into good and evil. President Roh has yet to put forth a definitive world vision. He has said that he would continue Kim Dae-jung’s “sunshine policy” of engaging North Korea, and he had called for more “equal” relations with the United States. Mr. Roh, as presidential candidate and president-elect, wowed his young supporters by saying that he would not go to the United States for a “photo-op” or “kowtow” to the United States.
“The two leaders are products of the times,” says Professor Cho Kisuk of Ewha Womans University. “President Bush rose to the occasion after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, when the American public wanted strong, forceful leadership. President Roh rose to the occasion of bringing Korea to the peak of democracy, where people want equality and more egalitarian leadership.”
For these reasons, the two leaders enjoy high domestic popularity. Mr. Roh’s popularity hovers at 75 percent, Mr. Bush’s at 70 percent.
The clamor among Koreans for equal treatment from the United States has been sounded through Mr. Roh’s comments on Seoul-Washington relations. But the North Korean nuclear weapons issue has pushed Mr. Roh to reach out to repair ties with the United States. His meeting with Mr. Bush is expected to test his diplomatic skills.
Watchers in Seoul are tuned to see if President Roh will rise to the demands. “I expect, when they sit down for talks, the two will hit it off,” Mr. Hahm said. “President Bush is feeling generous from the victory in the war in Iraq, and President Roh will be looking to work on issues, rather than on teaching his counterpart, as Kim Dae-jung did in 2001,” he added.
“As for the North Korean nuclear issue, I can say for certain that Mr. Roh is a pragmatist and strategist,” said Ms. Cho, forecasting that the talks will go smoothly.

by Kim Ji-soo