NGOS KEEP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ON THEIR TOES

UNCLAS SEOUL 001934 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM KS SUBJECT: NGOS KEEP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ON THEIR TOES REF: SEOUL 1848 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: South Korean NGOs' influence on politics has grown, but so has criticism of NGOs. Currently, NGOs are diversifying their ideology and evolving in their political roles. Left-wing NGOs tend to move toward active participation in institutionalized politics, even forming political parties and producing presidential candidates. Right-wing and moderate NGOs are diverse in approach: most try to stay neutral and stick to monitoring the candidates' pledges; some are explicitly supportive of the conservative Grand National Party (GNP). Despite these dynamics, many pundits speculate that NGOs are not likely to influence this year's presidential elections as much as they did in 2002. NGOs will continue to be important watchdogs of the election, however. END SUMMARY -------------- -------------- NGOS IN POLITICS: GROWING INFLUENCE AND CRITICISM -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) The rapid growth of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in South Korean society have made them a powerful force. In particular, NGOs' increasingly active participation in politics, starting in the 1990s, stands out. Some decided to use their role to influence who would be elected to public office. In April 2000, "Civil Action for the 2000 General Elections," a coalition of 400-odd NGOs, decided to "reject" politicians it viewed as unqualified candidates for the National Assembly. That same year, the Korea Federation of Environmental Movement (KFEM) supported 45 independent, progressive candidates as "Green Candidates" fifteen of whom were elected. In the 2002 presidential election, some NGOs considered to be leftist played a big role in getting Roh Moo-hyun into the presidency. After being elected, Roh explicitly thanked the NGOS for their support, according to press reports. Roh reportedly said "(he) would not have been elected if it were not for civic groups." This year, Choi Yul, the seminal figure on the Korean NGO scene who led the Korea Federation of Environmental Movement (KFEM) and other NGO activists, founded "Future Initiative for Integration & Prosperity" (FIIP). The organization aims to produce its own candidate for the upcoming presidential election and to participate in creating a new progressive party. (See paragraph 7 for more information.) ¶3. (U) Along with their rising influence, however, criticism against NGOs also has been growing. Because NGOs have been so widely involved in politics, some NGOs are seen as political organizations with the goal of supporting the current government instead of being watchdogs. Having seen some NGO activists recruited to the government and go into politics, the public now tends to view activists with suspicion. According to a survey done by Korea Society Opinion Institute in June 2006, 52.6 percent of the respondents said they did not "trust" the NGOs while only 41.5 percent said they did. This is in a sharp contrast to the survey in 2003-4 done by Samsung Economic Research Institute, in which NGOs ranked first among trustworthy organizations. By 2005 they ranked fifth. -------------- --- NGO'S ACTIONS IN 2000 ELECTIONS: A STEP TOO FAR? -------------- --- ¶4. (U) Internal discord over their role in politics also emerged among NGOs when the Rejection Campaign in the 2000 regional election was declared illegal by the Seoul Regional Court, and officers of the coalition, including Choi Yul, were fined USD 2 - 3,000. The controversy peaked when the conservative organizations began to emerge as the "New Rights" aiming to replace the so-called "Old right force" after GNP's failure in the 2004 National Assembly election. (Note: The GNP loss was largely due to backlash over its failed efforts to get President Roh's impeached. END NOTE.) In its initial stage, the New Rights' biggest organizations, Liberty Union and New Rights Union (NRU),both called for active participation in politics to resurrect Korea's conservatism. Some organizations, including the New Rights, argue that NGOs were political organizations and should participate in politics to accommodate the public's demands spectrum and that NGOs lost credibility because they were not active enough. In contrast, others said NGOs should not be politicized and remain neutral. -------------- -------------- PROGRESSIVE NGOS MAKE NO BONES ABOUT THEIR POLITICAL ACTIVITIES -------------- -------------- ¶5. (U) South Korean NGOs are diversifying into different directions, left and right, and undergoing different evolutionary processes, according to Professor Park Jai Chang of Sookmyung Women's University. Like other NGOs in the West, some NGOs are evolving from doing advocacy to participating in the policy process, and to forming a party. As a group, left-wing NGOs tend to move toward active participation in institutionalized politics, to the extent of forming parties. On the other hand, right-wing and moderate NGOs are less inclined to go in that direction. Some lean toward active participation but only as far as supporting a specific party or candidate. Others call for neutrality in politics and a return to addressing grassroots, non-political issues. ¶6. (U) On the progressive side, FIIP stands out as the most politically active civic group. At a press conference on June 11, 2007, FIIP announced the launch of "Committee for Creating a New Party" which would create a new progressive party by late July of this year. The Committee is led by Choi Yul and Kim Ho-jin, former Minister of Labor, and consists of 69 members. The members are mostly NGO activists and academics. Criticizing existing parties and politicians, the Committee called for a "new progressive (political) framework and politicians." The Committee said in its statement that it will align with "all groups that agree with (the Committee's) principles" and "actively pursue a broad integration of progressive groups." Arguing for the need to produce "a presidential candidate with the public's support," the Committee said it will run primaries that reflect the public's will. ¶7. (U) Both Uri Party and the newly announced Moderate Unified Democrats (MUD) have been eyeing FIIP as a potential partner to form a new political group toward a broad integration, the "grand union" of progressive parties. Uri Party members have reportedly contacted NGOs for possible recruitment of high-profile individuals into their ranks to gain the upper hand in the eventual consolidation of the ruling camp. Some pundits speculate that the Committee will support Sohn Hak-kyu,a former governor of Gyeonggi Province, or Mun Kuk-hyun, CEO of Yuhan Kimberly, rumored to be interested in the candidacy, as their candidate. ¶8. (U) Compared to progressive NGOs, conservative NGOs are more divided on how involved they should be in politics. At the extreme right, New Right Union's (NRU) co-chairman, Rev. Kim Jin-hong, publicly declared its support for the GNP in September 2006. Established in 2005, NRU was "inaugurated with a slogan to end the leftist power," according to Jhe Seong-ho, a law professor at Chung Ang University and NRU's co-chairperson. Jhe argued that NRU is both a civil society organization and political movement organization. More moderate than NRU, Liberty Union is led by Shin Ji-ho and tries to keep some distance from politics. According to Shin, Liberty Union is broader and different from NRU in that its goal is "advancing the nation through liberalist revolution"; it does not support the GNP unconditionally but is "willing to support a candidate from even Uri Party if he or she corresponds with the New Right Movement." Liberty Union will conduct a policy review campaign based on the newly published "New Right Korea Report," prepared for the 2007 presidential election. ¶9. (U) New Right NGOs are not above taking advisory roles for politicians. Individuals from New Right organizations are also being courted by presidential hopefuls, especially from the GNP. On June 11, during the announcement of his candidacy for GNP primaries, Lee Myung-bak, proposed forming a "ROK Advancement Promotion Council" that includes the GNP, New Rights, moderate, conservative, civic and political groups. Meanwhile, Park Geun-hye, his close rival in the GNP primaries, has been continuously speaking at or attending events hosted by NRU. ¶10. (U) These civic groups on both sides all concede that they are different from traditional NGOs. As Park Byung-ok, secretary general of Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) argued that NGOs in Korea are inherently defined as politically neutral organizations. In fact, civic groups prefer to call themselves "political organizations," "political movement organizations" or "public interest NGOs." -------------- SOME NGOS VOW TO STAY POLITICALLY NEUTRAL -------------- ¶11. (U) Unlike civic organizations at each end of the ideological spectrum, many moderate NGOs are trying to stay neutral in or keep away from politics. On May 22, 2007, Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ),Young Korean Academy, Christian Ethics Movement and Green Future launched the "Committee on Preparation for NGO Social Responsibility Movement." Recalling that NGOs are experiencing a crisis of increasing criticism and decreasing public support, they argued that NGOs have lost touch with the average citizens and should address issues of everyday life. The Committee aims to come up with NGO guidelines after reviewing public demands. People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) will also focus on activities to improve average citizens' quality of life, its secretary general Kim Min-young said. Green Foundation's Rieh Mi-kyoung, managing director, also told poloff that the organization will remain neutral and emphasized that Choi Yul, president of the Foundation, is putting on a different hat as an individual in politics. -------------- --- NGOS AGREE ON THE VALUE OF MONITORING CANDIDATES -------------- --- ¶12. (U) Most NGOs and experts, regardless of their political involvement and ideological differences, agree that NGOs should continue to review the candidates and their policies in the presidential election. In a recently televised debate, representatives from NGOs ranging from the conservative to the progressive all agreed on that, though on little else. Park Hyo-jong, who leads Citizens United for Better Society (CUBS),a moderate-conservative NGO, argued that political neutrality is important for NGOs and that CUBS will review the candidates' morals and filter out policies aimed to serve special interests. Park Byung-ok from CCEJ, agreed and announced plans to review pledges by comparing them with pledges from the 2002 Presidential election. CCEJ will grade candidates' policies separately in each area but will not come up with a total score, which would be equal to supporting the candidate. Kim Min-young, secretary general of PSPD, also said that PSPD will monitor the pledges, especially on the issue of illegal political funds. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶13. (U) NGOs are not likely to influence the 2007 presidential elections as directly as they did in 2002 but they will continue to play an important watchdog role. In addition, Korean NGOs often substitute for political parties in bridging the gap between the public and the government, as Kim Il from Joongang Ilbo's Civil Society Institute and Professor Park told us. However, it seems that South Korean NGOs face a choice: whether to stay away from politics to maintain their credibility in their areas of advocacy, or whether to jump into the political fray and be regarded essentially as political parties. VERSHBOW