Impeachment set to dominate vote

SEOUL — South Korean voters in parliamentary elections today will pass judgment not only on the first year of embattled President Roh Moo-hyun, but also on the conservative parties that impeached him March 12 and are trying to run him out of office.

As the polls opened, the closely fought campaign was viewed as a battle between a younger generation eager for change and older people who want stability after a lifetime of upheaval.

The National Assembly is dominated by opposition parties — the Grand National Party (GNP) and the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) — that have fought the reform-minded Mr. Roh.

The two parties pushed through an impeachment vote accusing Mr. Roh of making comments in support of the pro-presidential Uri (“Our Open”) Party — a violation of Korean electoral law banning public officials from making overt political statements. A South Korean court is weighing whether the removal drive is constitutional.

But the public backlash against the effort has shaken the opposition, with polls suggesting that about 70 percent of voters oppose the impeachment. Forecasters say Uri, which holds 47 seats against the GNP’s 146, could emerge the big winner, doubling its seats and perhaps winning an outright majority in the 299-member assembly.

“If Uri come in at number one, it will be a success,” said one diplomatic observer. “If the GNP are number one, they will be ecstatic.” A critical threshold is 100 seats, which grants a party an effective veto on legislation.

Uri Party Chairman Chung Dong-young has characterized the impeachment as “an aggression by ultra rightists” opposed to rapprochement with North Korea and to Mr. Roh’s anticorruption efforts.

Mr. Chung’s comments are aimed at the GNP, a party historically hawkish toward North Korea and heavily tarred by corruption scandals in the past.

The GNP has targeted the struggling economy under Mr. Roh and insists that it is committed to upgrading South Korea’s political culture.

Attempting to move beyond its base among the nation’s older voters, the GNP last month elected 52-year-old Park Geun-hye as party leader. Miss Park, the daughter of the assassinated President Park Chung-hee, also has called for a “more flexible” policy toward North Korea, a break with the party’s traditional harder line.

With the impeachment drama dominating the campaign, other issues have taken a back seat.

“Have I been impressed by the level of debate? Absolutely not,” said Yonsei University political science professor Lee Jung-Hoon. “What we have seen are political shenanigans, totally unrealistic promises, mudslinging and a lack of focus on the issues.”

Smaller parties have tried to make an issue of Mr. Roh’s decision to send troops to aid the U.S.-led mission in Iraq. The South Korean forces, still waiting to ship out, would be the third largest foreign contingent there, after the United States and Britain.