Word: chun
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...possibility would be for the government to find some way of reaching a compromise on the constitutional issue, or at least on electoral reform. Roh, who is thought to be a bit more flexible than Chun, implied such a solution when he told a group of South Korean reporters, "Our party will work out measures to cope with the present situation, respecting as much as possible public opinion and the people's aspirations as demonstrated in recent developments." An unnamed Democratic Justice Party official widely quoted in the Seoul press also seemed to indicate that Chun was backpedaling...
Opposition Leader Kim Young Sam called on Chun to "rescind the April 13 decision" and proposed talks between himself and the President. But Kim placed conditions on such a meeting: the release of some 1,500 demonstrators still in jail and the lifting of Kim Dae Jung's ten-week-old house arrest. Short of complying with those stipulations, Chun might submit the issue of whether to amend the constitution to a referendum, which it would almost certainly win. That would allow the President to let the matter be settled by popular will without forcing him explicitly to back down...
While many South Koreans believe opponents of President Chun Doo Hwan would win such a vote, others view the opposition with a distrust that borders on disdain. "We don't find the politicians on either side very attractive," says an influential South Korean businessman. "The opposition leaders are appealing only because they favor democracy and oppose this government...
...Kims can be as rigid and unyielding as President Chun. They showed that last April, when they broke away from what used to be the main opposition faction, the New Korea Democrats, to form the Reunification Party. At issue was a power struggle with Lee Min Woo, a leader of the older party, who was willing to compromise with the government on the shape of national elections in exchange for concessions that included greater press freedom and the release of political prisoners. The Kims' walkout left Lee's New Korea Democrats with a greatly reduced bloc of 22 seats...
Ironically, the Kims and Chun share some views. While the opposition leaders demand a full range of basic democratic freedoms, they largely agree with Chun on economic and foreign policies. The Kims would preserve the government and military bureaucracies, and make no major foreign policy shifts. Nor would they disband the giant trading houses that have helped propel South Korea's rapid growth. "We can live with the opposition's economic program," says one businessman...