PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE CHUNG DONG-YOUNG REACHES

UNCLAS SEOUL 002189 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS COMM CENTER PLEASE PASS TO COMUSKOREA SCJS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KN KS PGOV PREL SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE CHUNG DONG-YOUNG REACHES FOR THE MOON ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Former Unification Minister and Uri Party chair Chung Dong-young was the guest of honor on July 11 at the 170th Symposium on Korea's Foreign and Security Policy hosted by the Asia-Pacific Policy Research Institute (APPRI). Chung began his speech by criticizing not only his competition in the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) but also in the liberal camp. He claimed his experience in the media and abroad gave him enough leverage to win in a one-on-one standoff with any of the presidential candidates. Chung then gave a lengthy speech highlighting his policy agenda and answered questions posed by a panel of prominent members in South Korean academia and media. The most popular subject of the night was Chung's proposal to go "beyond the peninsula and stretch out to the universe" by expanding South Korea's aerospace industry and putting a South Korean on the moon by 2025. This policy purportedly doubles as a way for the ROK to strengthen its economy by providing much-needed jobs, and to craft a reputation as a leader in science and technology. The real meat of his policy agenda, however, is firmly centered around his continuation of the "Sunshine Policy" of engaging North Korea through dialogue and aid. END SUMMARY. -------------- FIGHTING STEEP COMPETITION -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Chung opened his address to a diverse audience of media, academic, business, and foreign embassy officials by unabashedly criticizing his competition in the upcoming presidential election, focusing primarily on current overall front-runner former Seoul mayor Lee Myung-bak, who holds about 35.2-40 percent popular support, and current liberal front-runner former Gyeonggi Province governor Sohn Hak-kyu, with 7.3-7.6 percent (Chung himself has 2.8-3.3 percent support, according to Donga Ilbo and Chosun Ilbo polls conducted on July 14). Chung claimed that the 21st century does not require leaders who dig canals or make underhanded political maneuvers, referring to Lee's Pan-Korea Grand Waterway pledge and Sohn's jump from the GNP to the liberal camp, respectively. He also expressed his displeasure with the GNP candidates' current popularity ratings of roughly 70 percent combined, towering over the liberals', which stand collectively at around 20 percent. Chung blames what he dubbed "this unnatural phenomenon" to the current administration's failure to unite the party and embrace market-opening measures, surmising that the public is so frustrated it had no choice but to support the opposition. He was confident, however, that in a one-on-one stand-off with any GNP candidate, he would win. -------------- POLITICS OF MODERATION FAIL TO IMPRESS -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Chung asserted that the 21st century requires a leader who can accomplish three goals: (1) solidify a strong middle class; (2) foster the growth of small to medium-sized companies and; (3) exhibit the capability to unify its constituency through the "politics of moderation," or in other words, establishing a moderate policy platform. Chung explained that the average Korean's dream is to be in the middle-class, and pledged to increase South Korea's middle clas to 70 percent of the population (from 50 percent). One of the ways to do this, he said, was to establish an order of mutual growth and fair trade between the large companies and small to medium-sized companies, with the government playing an active role in the process. The expansion of small to medium-sized companies, he said, would create "quality" jobs as well, guaranteeing a decrease in unemployment and generally aiding the country's welfare. ¶4. (SBU) In response to a question regarding his view on free trade agreements (FTA),Chung claimed the ROK could only expect to survive in the future by internally strengthening the welfare system and externally expanding FTAs. He commented further that it was essential for the ROK to complete an FTA with the U.S. and Japan within the next four to five years, and that the expansion of the ROK's free market economy would work towards all three of his aforementioned goals. The panelists, a collection of academics and media representatives, however, criticized these goals after Chung's speech for being replicas of President Roh Moo-hyun and former president Kim Dae-jung's own campaign pledges. -------------- TARGET: THE UNIVERSE -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Chung, probably in a move to counter Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye's canal and ferry initiatives, introduced his own plan to "catch up with Japan while keeping China at a distance," by expanding South Korea's aerospace industry. He claimed that in the 21st century, the country that controls the air will be the one with power, and specifically pointed to China and Japan's own space programs as opportunities for the ROK to escape what he called its "sandwich mentality." Chung's proposed plan, the "2025 Dream-Space Project," aims to put a Korean on the moon by 2025, which he claims will enable the ROK to be a formidable leader in a science and technology society. Chung stated that the plan would also help to revitalize the South Korean economy by creating much-needed jobs. While the plan generally received a favorable reception from the audience and panelists, one panelist, after conceding that the plan was "better" than the other candidates' initiatives, expressed skepticism at Chung's ability to convince the public of its necessity. -------------- NORTH KOREA POINT-MAN -------------- ¶6. (SBU) During his speech, Chung highlighted his academic and work history abroad as proof that he was the most qualified presidential candidate when it came to foreign policy issues. His main focus was on his experience in dealing with North Korea during his tenure as Unification Minister from 2004-2005. He expressed his hope that everyone would visit one of ROK's "most important inter-Korean projects," the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a project that he facilitated as Unification Minister. Chung underscored his experience with North Korea by attributing the September 2005 Joint Statement as a direct result of his own meeting with Kim Jong-Il several months prior for which Chung traveled to Pyongyang and engaged in a 5-hour meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il. Despite the current prevailing sentiment that North Korea's October 2006 nuclear test rendered the agreement a failure, Chung claimed that history would "vindicate" his agreement as a "Little Magna Carta" from which all future inter-Korean policies would stem. ¶7. (SBU) Chung was a harsh critic of both the current administration's and opposition candidates' North Korea policies; he claimed it was a mistake of the Roh administration to link North-South relations to progress in the Six Party Talks, and an even bigger mistake for the GNP to take a hard-line stance against the North. At several junctures in his speech, Chung said that he welcomed the GNP's recent change in attitude towards North Korea--a much softer policy announced on July 4 that focuses on economic support for the North with a long-term goal of unification--but immediately questioned the party's motives, denouncing the GNP as too "short-term" in its vision for the future, and as politically motivated. Chung then discounted the possibility of a GNP president being capable of making significant headway in inter-Korean relations or North Korean denuclearization. ¶8. (SBU) Chung put himself forth as the candidate most capable of handling inter-Korean relations and keeping hard-liners--not just in the opposition party but also, he claimed, those in Japan, China, U.S., and the South Korean public--at a distance. Chung's strongest policy agenda has always been his North Korea policy, in which he advocated an engagement-first approach towards the North, claiming that it is only through dialogue and strengthened relations that North Korean denuclearization can occur. Chung made an appeal for reunification by asserting that Korea's only hope for future energy security is through integration on the peninsula. Dismissing skeptics in the audience who feared he was supporting a "hasty" reunification, Chung emphasized that as President he would make sure North Korea established formal diplomatic ties with the U.S. and built a fully-functioning inter-Korean economy by 2020 in order to ensure a successful unification of the peninsula. ¶5. (SBU) During the question and answer session, an audience member posed the question, "While a peace regime would of course be welcome, how could you handle a regional or global arms race?" Chung asserted that he believed close and continued dialogue in this case would be the most effective method, and supported the use of either a four-party or six-party approach as a regional security system, even in the case of complete North Korean denuclearization. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Chung's 2025 Dream-Space Project is likely to be a well-publicized fixture in his campaign, but does not appear to be more than a publicity stunt to challenge his competition. Chung's real ambition is to become the president who spearheads unification on the Korean peninsula. His other campaign promises, however, may sound too similar to those of Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun to an increasingly jaded public. Thus, unable to distinguish himself from the current administration, nor able to get much help from them, Chung is likely to flounder in the polls and unlikely to beat out his competition in the liberal camp in securing a win on its ticket. It is probable, however, that he could remain politically active by throwing his support behind the chosen center-left candidate, and in the case of a liberal victory could become an influential player on future North Korean policy. END COMMENT. STANTON