South Korea Opens Vote For New President Old-Liner, Democracy Advocate Meeting On The Road To Recovery

Voters began casting their ballots today for a new president to rescue this nation from its financial crisis and preside over a far-reaching industrial overhaul during the next five years.

As the candidates finished their campaigning on Wednesday night, bellowing in hoarse voices to shoppers in the markets, the election came to be widely seen as a milestone in Korean history.

It is a bit like the American presidential election of 1932, during the Great Depression, and each candidate is trying to portray himself as a reassuring Roosevelt-like figure able to lead the country to economic recovery.

The two leading candidates, Kim Dae Jung (pronounced Kim Day Joong) and Lee Hoi Chang (pronounced Ee Hweh Chahng), were neck and neck in opinion polls, but they come from very different backgrounds. Lee is a former judge and the epitome of the establishment, while Kim is a legendary democracy campaigner in Asia whom past South Korean presidents repeatedly tried to kill.

If Kim wins, it will be the first peaceful transfer of the presidency to the opposition party in modern Korean history. Just 10 years ago, when Kim was also running, the country was rife with rumors that his victory would provoke a military coup. Now there are no such rumblings.

In any case, this will probably be the closest and most democratic election Korea has ever had, and the dominant issue is simply who will be able to resolve the national crisis and restore South Korea to greatness.

Kim warned that if Lee was elected, “the nation will plunge into deeper crisis.”

Lee responded by suggesting that the financial markets would effectively punish Korea if it chose Kim.

“If a figure lacking credibility with the international community takes office, there would be a further exodus of our meager foreign capital,” Lee declared, referring to Kim.

Both Lee and Kim have lived in the United States and speak fairly good English, and each portrays himself as the international candidate with the ties to Washington that can help resolve the crisis.

Both candidates now say they favor far-reaching economic changes in accordance with the International Monetary Fund’s bailout of South Korea.

Financial analysts said that the stock market would probably react better to a win by Lee, as he is regarded as more of a pro-business candidate, while Kim is seen as a populist who might be reluctant to close bankrupt companies and put people out of work.