Reform Sells Papers : Seoul: Hope Tinged With Skepticism

Roh Yoon Soo has sat in his tiny newsstand kiosk in the heart of downtown Seoul six days a week for the past 15 years, and never before has he sold as many newspapers as he did on Monday.

“I sold 10 times the papers today that I do in an ordinary day,” said the ruddy-faced Roh, 55, his wide grin showing a few silver teeth and a personal joy that went far beyond his profits.

“All of the Korean people are very happy today,” he said. “From today, I think, we will all begin to live well.”

Echoes of Hope

Almost from the moment that Roh Yoon Soo and hundreds of other corner newsstand owners like him began selling thousands of copies of “extras” reporting the ruling party leader’s announcement of major concessions to the opposition, the streets of this capital of 10 million people echoed with the kind of hope, even euphoria, voiced by the newsstand owner.

Along traffic-snarled downtown streets that just three days earlier had reeked of potent police tear gas used against anti-government demonstrators, smiles and soft laughter replaced tears and anger on the faces of thousands of commuters and shoppers as news of the government party’s program of concessions spread through Seoul.

It was not, however, the sort of unbridled euphoria that turned Manila into a city-wide carnival after the fall there last year of Ferdinand E. Marcos.

Protests Seen Ending

The surprise announcement by Chairman Roh Tae Woo of the ruling Democratic Justice Party was, to most of the Koreans interviewed on the street Monday, the most significant political event in recent history. And, reflecting the graceful reserve that marks so much of Korea’s 5,000-year-old culture as well as its complex system of politics, their obvious elation was tempered with skepticism.

Most of the Korean businessmen, vendors, students, priests and shopkeepers interviewed said they believed Chairman Roh’s proposed reform program, including direct popular election of a president, would have to be accepted by the increasingly isolated President Chun Doo Hwan. They also said that they believe the violent, student-led street demonstrations of the past three weeks will come to an end for now.

Yet they warned of worse consequences if the ruling party were to change its stand on Roh’s proposals.

‘Not Over Yet’

“This is not over yet,” said a 30-year-old businessman who identified himself only as Mr. Kim. “The final decision has not been made yet, so the students should watch and wait.

“We had a mistrust of the government and ruling party for a long time,” he added. “Because of the announcement today, they took away some of this mistrust. But if Chun will not accept this, we will have worse mistrust of them than ever. It will be worse than if Roh had never announced it in the first place.”

Kim Kyung Min, a college sophomore sitting with a friend near Myongdong Cathedral, the site of a six-day anti-government student sit-in earlier this month, agreed that Roh’s proposal for reform was long overdue.

“They should have made this announcement long ago, before students and police were hurt,” Kim said. “It is a good proposal, and obviously I hope it is accepted. But the demonstrations were never a worthless exercise.

“When this is accepted and carried out, then the demonstrations will stop for good--only then.”

Cho Sung Shin, owner of a Korea Ginseng Tea franchise in an underground shopping mall in the district where the worst of the recent demonstrations took place, was more hopeful.

“This is all so very welcome,” the 30-year-old shop owner said. “These two things alone--the direct presidential election and the abolition of press censorship--were the main things that the people want.

“Of course, I do not understand the behind-the-scenes story, but I would like to believe this will all come to pass.”

Describing the proposal as “revolutionary,” Cho said that many businessmen are now looking ahead to the presidential election, which party Chairman Roh said should be held before next February, when Chun has pledged to step down after seven years of military-backed rule. Chun is not allowed a second term under the present Korean constitution.

“At this point, it is difficult to tell which party will come to power--the opposition or the ruling party--but I am a little afraid of revenge against Chun,” Cho said.

Cho cited the 1980 anti-government riots in the central city of Kwangju, in which the government acknowledged that the South Korean army killed about 200 people. The opposition says that as many as 2,000 were killed. Many Koreans blame Chun for the carnage.

Calling the Kwangju massacre “one of the most significant and tragic” events in Korean history, the tea-shop owner said he hopes the political opposition will not seek punishment of the regime over the incident.

“I think for the sake of national unity, we should only learn the facts,” he said. “That is enough. Just to know what really happened. Punishment, political revenge, this is too much right now.”

Priest Euphoric

Perhaps the greatest euphoria was shown by a Roman Catholic priest, Father Alexander Lee, on the steps of the recently besieged Myongdong Cathedral.

Interviewed after a charity concert in the cathedral for his leprosy clinic in the Korean town of Anyang, Alexander called Roh’s proposal “a miracle.”

“It is very difficult in Korean politics to make these strong decisions,” the priest said. “It was very good news. That is what we have been asking for all along.

“And it is just very, very fortunate that this came about before anything worse happened.”