Mick Hartley

South Korean elections are coming up in December. The main contenders to succeed current president Roh Moo-hyun, as far as I can tell (South Korean politics is complicated), are Chung Dong-young, Roh’s successor and advocate of a continuation of the Sunshine Policy towards North Korea, and two candidates on the conservative side, Lee Myung-bak and the more hardline Lee Hoi-chang (aka Ri Hoe Chang), who’s a fierce critic of the current regime’s rapprochement with Pyongyang.

The North Koreans aren’t shy about making their views known. From the KCNA (the official DPRK news agency):

The south Koreans should decisively eliminate such traitor to the nation and confrontation and war maniac as Ri Hoe Chang so that he may not raise his head again.

A spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said this in a statement issued Saturday.

The statement continued: Shortly ago, Ri let loose a spate of vituperation, asserting that “the north should be forced to dismantle its nukes” and “it is necessary to make a switchover in the south-north relations and south Korea’s policy towards the north.” He went the lengths of foolishly taking issue with even the dignified system in the DPRK.

This only brought into bolder relief his true colors as a wicked anti-reunification traitor and anti-DPRK confrontational maniac dead-set against the improved inter-Korean relations, peace on the Korean Peninsula and prosperity common to the nation and reunification.

He is so wicked a traitor and charlatan that he does not bother to speak ill of not only others but of his own clan to gratify his dirty political ambition.

What he uttered can never be tolerated as it is a product of his criminal intention to bar the present north-south relations from making progress at any cost and stem the trend of the national history in a bid to bring back the past era of confrontation. He has gone so mad with north-south confrontation that he made no scruple of ballyhooing about even the “theory of war.”

The reality once again clearly proves that his nature as a pro-U.S. ultra-right conservative without an equal and a vicious advocate of showdown with the DPRK can never change.

If such guy is allowed to come to power it is as clear as noonday that south Korea will witness again the dark era of fascism and the divided Korean nation will suffer a disaster of another war.

Clear enough? There’s more:

The General Association of Koreans in China Wednesday issued a statement titled “Let’s decisively eliminate Ri Hoe Chang, a heinous sycophantic traitor and anti-reunification element, in the name of nation.”

The statement accused Ri, a political imposter in south Korea, of going mad with his ambition to become “president” these days, noting that he is a wicked sycophantic traitor, an anti-reunification element and a kingpin of irregularities and corruption.

The traitor at a press conference slandered pro-reform forces, ballyhooing about “a decade wasted,” and not content with this, he not only blustered that “he would radically reshape the policy toward the north” but also openly revealed his sinister attempt to bar the inter-Korean relations from improving, the statement said, and continued:

This guy, who is no more than human scum, was forsaken by the times and the public and eliminated from the political arena for his despicable sycophantic and traitorous and anti-reunification acts and irregularities and corruption. His bid to take “presidential office” is, therefore, an intolerable insult to the south Korean people and an unpardonable mockery of justice and conscience.

The south Korean people from all walks of life desirous of the June 15 era should properly see through the danger of the present situation and mete out a stern judgement to such dregs of history as Ri Hoe Chang and decisively eliminate him so that he may not raise his head again.

And more:

The Federation of Korean National Economic Workers in China released a statement on November 20 denouncing traitor Ri Hoe Chang for his desperate efforts to seize power.

The statement accused Ri Hoe Chang, a politician whose days are numbered, of declaring his candidacy for the “presidential elections” recently though he was forsaken by the times and the nation for being dregs of history and working with bloodshot eyes to win people’s favor.

Branding Ri as a die-hard anti-reunification element, political charlatan and kingpin of irregularities and corruption, the statement assailed him for letting loose a spate of vituperation, blustering in his declaration on running for the elections that he would “radically reshape the policy toward the north” and it was inevitable for him to run for the elections in order to make up for the ” decade wasted”.

And yet more:

The Solidarity for Implementing the South-North Joint Declaration reportedly issued a statement on November 20 calling for an all-out struggle against Ri Hoe Chang.

Calling on the entire progressive camp to roundly disclose the irregularities and corruption committed by traitor Ri Hoe Chang including the cases of “Pyongphung,” “Sephung,” “Chongphung” and “Anphung,” the statement underscored the need to form an all-people front of the struggle against Ri Hoe Chang.

The key to frustrating Ri Hoe Chang’s attempt to seize power is to form the all-people front of the struggle against irregularities and conservatism, the statement noted, and went on:

Let people from all walks of life wage a dynamic struggle under the slogan “No Ri Hoe Chang, kingpin of irregularities and corruption, running for the presidential elections!” Ri is not qualified to run for the “presidential elections.”

I get the impression they don’t like Ri Hoe Chang very much.

(via The Marmot’s Hole)