S. Korea Leader Cuts Off Talks on New Charter

President Chun Doo Hwan announced today that he is cutting off negotiations with the opposition on how to elect his successor, saying that “time has run out” to rewrite the constitution before he steps down in February, 1988.

In a nationwide television address, Chun effectively rejected the opposition’s demands for direct presidential elections, saying the next leader would be chosen later this year through the current system of indirect election by an electoral college.

Opposition leader Kim Young Sam said the announcement “spells disaster not only for the present regime but for our nation as well” because it ignores “the people’s ardent desire for direct presidential election.”

First Peaceful Transition

Chun said he would step down Feb. 25, 1988, in what would be the first peaceful transfer of power in South Korea since the republic was founded in 1948. Chun, a former army general, took power in 1980 after the 1979 assassination of President Park Chung Hee.

“Time has run out, and we cannot wait any longer for a consensus to emerge,” Chun said in the 40-minute address from his official residence, the Blue House. “Deplorably, the efforts to amend the constitution by consensus (with the opposition) as so ardently desired by the public have not made even an inch of headway.”

Responding to the speech, Kim Dae Jung, another leading dissident who is currently under indefinite house arrest, said: “Despite his announcement, nobody can stop the people’s will for constitutional amendment for direct presidential election. We will continue to struggle along with the people to achieve this goal.”

Chun sought last year to postpone any political liberalization until after the 1988 Summer Olympics here. However, public pressure, including an explosion of student demonstrations, forced him to agree to negotiations between his party and the opposition on what system would replace the indirect presidential election system.

The ruling Democratic Justice Party and opposition parties have been at loggerheads for more than a year on how to amend the constitution. The ruling party has held fast to its proposal for a parliamentary cabinet system, while the opposition demanded direct election of the president.

Opponents of the regime, led by Kim Dae Jung and Kim Young Sam, argue that the only chance for the opposition to win the presidency is through one-man, one-vote balloting.

Chun maintained that there is not enough time left before his term ends to amend the constitution, vote on the new document in the National Assembly and hold a national referendum.

After he steps down and the Summer Olympics are held in late September, 1988, he said, there will be time for the National Assembly to revise the constitution.

“In order to ensure the successful accomplishment of the two major national tasks of peaceful change of government and the Seoul Olympics, I hereby declare withholding of counterproductive debate on constitutional change, which would only split public opinion and waste national energies,” Chun said.

Chun also warned that he would “resolutely deal” with any group that attempts “to create social chaos through illegal activities and violence.”

The government has repeatedly blamed the two Kims for fomenting social turmoil and inciting students to protest on campus, where they often engage in bitter battles with police.