SOHN HAK-KYU: THINKING MAN'S PRESIDENTIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 003217 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2014 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KS SUBJECT: SOHN HAK-KYU: THINKING MAN'S PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE? REF: A. SEOUL 1920 ¶B. SEOUL 2190 Classified By: POL Joseph Y. Yun. Reasons 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In a Buddhist-run youth hostel at the foot of scenic Mount Sorak, GNP presidential hopeful Sohn Hak-kyu met with poloff over tea on September 17. The former Gyeonggi Province Governor, dressed in plain workman's clothes and sporting an unkempt beard, described his 100-day tour of rural Korea, where he was learning about the "people's spirit". He discussed the problems related to the KORUS FTA for Korea's farmers, the economic plight of the common Korean and the task at hand for the conservative Grand National Party (GNP) to win back people's support and the Blue House. He also emphasized that because of Korea's geopolitical position and importance, the U.S. should not abandon Korea no matter what President Roh does in the remainder of his tenure. He concluded with a strong plea that the U.S. back the presidential candidate that had the most reasoned view of U.S.-ROK relations and of the geopolitical situation in Northeast Asia, clearly implying that he was just that candidate. END SUMMARY. 100 DAY TOUR -------------- ¶2. (C) After picking peppers with farmers in flood devastated Inje county in eastern Korea on the 79th day of his 100-day tour of rural Korea, Sohn took Sunday morning off to meet with poloff before he continued his journey to south eastern Korea via public bus and train. On September 17, a handful of young GNP lawmakers joined Sohn to pick peppers. According to Kong Song-jin, a first term GNP lawmaker who made the three hour drive to Gangwon Province, the reform wing of the GNP supports Sohn and views him as an important figure in the run up to the 2007 presidential elections even though they feel he will play a spoiler's role rather than capture the GNP nomination. ¶3. (C) On June 29, the Ambassador met with the dapper, worldly Governor Sohn for lunch just before his term ended on June 30. The figure poloff met on September 17 was a different person - Sohn has not shaved since July 1 and during one-and-half-hour discussion he focused on Korea's current plight and its future particularly in regard to relations with the U.S. and its neighbors. This was a marked change from touting his achievements as Governor of Gyeonggi Province as he did on June 29 (Reftel B). He said his mission during his hundred day trip was not to explain his policy platform or convince people he was the right candidate to become president, but rather to find out what the Korean people needed. He said Koreans did not see a bright future and in fact, could not see, "the light at the end of the tunnel" of their current economic difficulties. He said that while the economy was paramount, education reform was even more important to middle and lower class Koreans. FTA --- ¶4. (C) Sohn said he was surprised by the strength of the opposition to the FTA among farmers in Korea and asked that the U.S. show sympathy for the plight of Korea's farmers. While Sohn is a strong pro-business, KORUS FTA proponent, he said after hearing the fervor of anti-FTA sentiment from the country's rural population, he would urge Korea and the U.S. to look for ways to mitigate the potential losses to the farming sector. DPRK -------------- ¶5. (C) On North Korea, Sohn said most Koreans did not feel threatened by, nor care much about the DPRK's provocative actions or the current administration's policy toward North Korea. He was surprised at how little most people reacted to North Korea's July 4 missile launches and attributed people's apathy to their current difficult economic situation. He added that farmers have reacted to current ROK North Korea policy as it directly affects them and complained that the gifting of fertilizer to the North had raised the price of fertilizer for farmers in the South. In general, the economic plight of Koreans colored their world view, said Sohn. Most farmers were staying afloat through bank loans, the former Governor added. COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (C) Sohn's polls are very poor, hovering around 2-5%. Still, analysts and journalists say he should not be written off completely. For example, a recent poll of newspaper journalists picked Sohn as their top candidate for the December, 2007 election. While Sohn, like Roh, participated in the democratic movement in the 70s and 80s, in many ways, Sohn is the anti-Roh candidate with a PhD from Oxford and experience as a professor of political science and as Minister of Health and Welfare. ¶7. (C) While he may not take the Blue House in 2007, Sohn's ambition and drive are clear and he will be a force to be reckoned with in the months and years to come. As Uri Party staffer Kim Ki-bong told poloff, "the 100 day people's spirit tour was something the Uri Party candidates should have done. Sohn's tour is winning people over as they see it not as a political stunt but a reflection of Sohn's genuineness." VERSHBOW