Roh Sees No Military Veto of S. Korean Election : Head of Ruling Party Predicts Acceptance of a Fair Victory by Opposition

SEOUL, South Korea —  Roh Tae Woo, head of the ruling Democratic Justice Party and its nominee for president, charged Thursday that the opposition in South Korea lacks the ability to govern, but he said the military would accept an opposition victory in a fair election.

The 54-year-old former general also said he would prove to voters--despite his participation in a 1979 mutiny, a 1980 coup and seven years of authoritarian rule under President Chun Doo Hwan--that he believes in democracy by carrying out the eight-point democratization program that he announced June 29.

The program, which immediately silenced 18 days of street protests that had swept the country in June, calls for transformation of the nation into a full democracy, including a direct presidential election for the first time in 16 years. The election, which will pick a successor to Chun, whose term ends next Feb. 24, is expected in December.

Backs Workers’ Demands

In a one-hour, 40-minute news conference with foreign correspondents, Roh also:

-- Supported demands for higher wages by workers “who feel they have been sacrificed in the government’s economic development policy” and pledged to keep the government out of labor strife that has paralyzed major sectors of the economy.

-- Said that a ruling party proposal for a residency requirement for presidential candidates will not disqualify either Kim Dae Jung, an opposition leader who lived for more than two years in the United States, or Kim Jong Pil, a leading figure in the government of the late President Park Chung Hee who spent more than a year in the United States.

-- Offered to release about 200 remaining political prisoners if they “show repentance and disavow communist ideology.”

-- Said agreement on a draft of a new constitution permitting direct presidential election is expected by the end of August.

-- Defined democracy as “doing the things the people want done, following the will of the people.”

-- Predicted that radical students will again try to stage violent demonstrations after summer vacation but said, “This time, the majority of the people will not support their demands and they will be separated from the mainstream of society.”

Relaxed, Self-Confident

Roh was relaxed and self-confident throughout the marathon news conference, his second with foreign correspondents since he was nominated June 10. His most biting comments--and even those were uttered in a mild tone--came when he charged that the opposition lacks the ability to run the country.

“So far, the opposition has produced only slogans and demands. Democracy cannot be achieved simply by making demands. Democracy will be achieved only by a political party with the capability to make it a reality,” he declared.

Roh challenged the major opposition Reunification Democratic Party, which has not yet nominated a candidate, to “show the people who can do the job.”

Asked about a reported comment made in private by the chief of staff of South Korea’s 600,000-man army that an “unhappy event” would occur if Kim Dae Jung were elected, Roh, unlike Defense Ministry officials, made no attempt to deny that the statement was made.

Brushes Off Remark

“Since the remark of a certain military official was the expression of a private view made in a private setting, it does not represent the military’s view on Kim Dae Jung,” he said.

“If a candidate wins in a fair contest with the support of the people, it is only natural that the military will observe and respect the result of such an election,” he added. “I believe that will happen.”

Roh was asked how voters could believe his June 29 commitment to democracy against the background of his participation in a 1979 mutiny, which gave Chun, then a two-star general, control of the military; in a 1980 coup, which gave Chun control of the government, and in seven years of authoritarian Chun rule.

“If we turn into reality what I announced in my June 29 statement,” he replied, “the Korean people will, indeed, regard that as democratic development . . . (and) will support me.

“It should be noted,” he added, “that there are many democratic leaders in other countries who happen to have a military background. What is important is not a (candidate’s) background but whether he can make democracy a reality.”

Roh said attempts to “civilianize” the ruling Democratic Justice Party, which Chun established with the help of the military in 1980, focused not on the “backgrounds” of party officials, many of them former generals, but rather on promoting “the spirit and principle of parliamentary democracy” within the party.

Roh acknowledged that Chun’s government had often intervened in labor-management relations to “side with management in suppressing wage demands.” Now, he said, it is time for the government to revise repressive labor laws and stand aside to allow workers to seek their “fair share” in the nation’s economic growth.

A “fair share,” he added, would be “what is agreed upon between labor and management.”

Wants Management Concessions

But, throughout his comments on the labor situation, he stressed that management should make more concessions than labor to end the turmoil.

Roh for the first time specifically ruled out applying the ruling party’s proposed constitutional residence requirement to either Kim Dae Jung or Kim Jong Pil.

He said that Kim Dae Jung, the opposition candidate in the last free and open presidential election in 1971, was merely visiting the United States between 1983 and 1985 “for medical treatment,” while Kim Jong Pil was merely “traveling,” not living, in the United States in 1984 and 1985. The clause, which requires residence in South Korea for five continuous years before running as a presidential candidate, he added, has been in all of South Korea’s constitutions since 1960.

Ruling party leaders have said privately that a candidacy by Kim Jong Pil could spell defeat for Roh in a contest against either Kim Dae Jung or Kim Young Sam, the main opposition leaders. Former Prime Minister Kim Jong Pil’s support among voters, although not rated at more than 10%, would come entirely from voters who otherwise would be likely to vote for Roh, they noted.