With liberal surge, nostalgia for ex-President Roh rises

To some South Koreans, Moon Jae-in’s swearing-in as the nation’s president was like the return of his late friend, mentor and predecessor -- the former liberal President Roh Moo-hyun.

For those in support of the liberal administration, it was a long hoped for reinstatement of power. Dissenters, on the other hand, were cautious toward what they saw as the revival of pro-Roh hegemonism and divisive politics.

Either way, there is little disagreement that Moon’s rise in power has rekindled the public’s recollection of the late politician whose tragic death in 2009 left a scar in the nation’s memory.

On Saturday, a massive cultural festival was held in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square to commemorate in advance the eighth anniversary of Roh’s death on May 23, gathering the largest crowd in recent years.

More than 13,000 people attended the event, according to the organizer Roh Moo-hyun foundation, a figure seen as reflecting the nation’s renewed mourning for the deceased president and its elevated expectancy for the new Moon government.

Until last year, when the conservative Park Geun-hye administration was in power, memorials for Roh had largely been solemn events full of remorse and bitterness. But this year reflected a certain level of joy, hope and amity -- a change attributable to the former Roh aide’s rise to presidency.

“It seems that President Moon is gingering up various parts of our society, just like fresh air,” South Chungcheong Gov. An Hee-jung, who had competed with Moon in the party primary ahead of the May 9 election, said during the occasion.

Such anticipation that Moon will succeed the legacy of the former Roh administration -- in which he had served as presidential chief of staff -- has so far acted as a double-edged sword for the new president.

Moon’s series of actions so far -- including his emotional appeals to the public, dispersion of power within the secretariat, revocation of the former conservative administrations’ legacies -- triggered speculations that he is trying to revert to the former liberal government.

But the one thing Moon is sure to shirk is the ordeal which Roh had to go through in his lifetime.

Though now remembered largely as a warm-hearted progressive state leader, Roh had lived a tough life as president and as former president, until ending his life by suicide in 2009.

Having risen from an almost nobody to a dramatic winner of the presidential election, Roh lacked a substantial power group to support him amid factional disputes. His informal way of speech and iconoclastic style, which were quite unprecedented as state chief, also raised backlashes from dissenters.

His approval rating, which at his best time reached the 60 percent mark, once fell to a12 percent low, reflecting the controversies surrounding him.

At the peak of such divide was the parliament’s motion of Roh’s impeachment over his alleged breach of political neutrality. Though it was later dismissed by the Constitutional Court, the case itself became a mark of the turmoil which Roh caused in political circles.

It was his sudden and tragic death, driven by the prosecution’s aggressive probe over his family members‘ alleged corruption, which eventually delivered a shock to those who doubted Roh’s values.

In the years following his death, especially during the rule of former President Park, videos of Roh’s heart-felt speeches once again went viral, forming a clear contrast to then-state chief Park who was often criticized for her lack of communication and exclusive decision processes.

President Moon -- who not only acted as chief mourner at Roh’s funeral but also attended all memorials since the year of the tragedy -- is determined to pay respects to his late friend, this time as the nation’s president.

With Roh’s eighth memorial day Tuesday, the president took Monday off to gather his thoughts and ready himself for the big event which, according to the Roh Foundation, is expected to draw the largest-ever crowd of 25,000 or more.

With opinions still divided over the deceased former president, the overall trend among supporters of Roh -- and of Moon -- is that they should now move on from the yearslong sorrow and anger, to remember and honor the person that Roh was.

Reflecting such sentiment is the upcoming documentary “Our President,” featuring Roh during his most dramatic period in 2002, when he rose from an unknown to the main opposition party’s presidential candidate.

The documentary, which is to be released to the public this Thursday, includes a series of tributes from his still-grieving supporters, friends and political aides, including President Moon who was at the time of the shooting a candidate for this year’s race.

According to the director, Lee Chang-jae, the film chooses to explore Roh as a “human being,” as well as his personal charm and humor through the recollections of his acquaintances. Though he was not a Roh supporter, the director said he had felt a sense of “clinging sadness” after the former president’s suicide.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)