Chun Endorses Korean Reforms : Fully Accepts Sweeping Proposals to Spur Democratic Development

President Chun Doo Hwan said today that he “fully accepts” the most sweeping reform program South Korea has ever seen “to promote epochal democratic development and national harmony.”

The former general, who for the first five years of his term had rejected any consideration of constitutional revision, said in a nationwide television broadcast that his successor will be elected under a new constitution “if the (constitution) is expeditiously revised and enacted following an agreement between the government party and the opposition on a direct presidential election system.”

With a solemn expression, Chun declared that the “substance” of bombshell proposals made Monday by the chairman of his ruling Democratic Justice Party, Roh Tae Woo, is “in full accord with my own thinking.”

‘Dialogue, Compromise’

Flanked by flags of country and office and sitting behind a huge desk that dwarfed him, Chun, wearing glasses, spoke in a monotone throughout the 20-minute speech.

“Democracy is implemented not by word but by action,” Chun said. “We can no longer ignore the fact that the only means democracy has are dialogue and compromise within the framework of law and order.”

He warned that any new outbreak of “social chaos,” such as the street demonstrations that swept the country from June 10 to 28 after his party named Roh as its presidential candidate, will not be tolerated.

“Let us work another miracle by developing Korea into a model of political development deserving to be so recorded in world history,” Chun declared. “We must not be content with having merely become a model of economic development.”

Roh’s eight-point reform plan, which encompassed a program for democratization even more sweeping than the opposition had demanded, specifically called for Chun to grant amnesty to Kim Dae Jung, 63, who in 1971 was the opposition candidate in South Korea’s last free and open presidential election. But Chun did not mention Kim by name.

Instead, he pledged to grant amnesties and restore civil rights “extensively” to “resolve antagonism and confrontation among citizens and to promote reconciliation and unity.”

Roh’s recommendation of amnesty for Kim--along with his acceptance of an opposition demand for direct presidential elections before the reins of government are scheduled to be turned over on Feb. 25, 1988--astonished both Koreans and foreign diplomats.

Kim was jailed by Chun on May 17, 1980, the night Chun carried out his coup, and was convicted of having fomented the rebellion in the southern city of Kwangju, which began after Kim was arrested. A death sentence was later reduced to a 20-year jail term, which Chun suspended to set Kim free.

Case ‘Far-Fetched’

The United States in 1980 called charges against Kim “far-fetched,” but South Korean military leaders remain convinced that he is a demagogue with leftist leanings.

One Western diplomat said military commanders “loathe” Kim. The “conventional wisdom” that the military would not let Kim take office as president “remains unchanged,” another diplomat said Tuesday.

Today, a Western diplomat said that “if there is a sticking point, it’s (the absence of any mention of) Kim Dae Jung.”

Even after Roh’s dramatic announcement Monday, discussions continued within the ruling Democratic Justice Party on whether Kim should be given amnesty, the diplomat said.

Because of the suspended jail sentence, Kim has been deprived of his civil rights and cannot run for public office.

Kim himself, along with his political ally, Kim Young Sam, president of the new, hard-line Reunification Democratic Party, took no issue this morning with the absence of a specific assurance of amnesty for the former presidential candidate. But both opposition leaders complained about reported government plans to release only 1,100 people imprisoned for political crimes since Chun took office--a minority of the 3,000 or so they say are in jail.

“According to government-released figures,” said Kim Dae Jung, “the government’s definition of political prisoners is less than half of what we know them to be. Except for those who admit they are Communists, all political prisoners should be released immediately.”

Kim Young Sam also called for reinstatement of university students who have been expelled from school for anti-government activities.

Unlike Monday, when Roh stunned the nation by announcing the sweeping proposals, the president’s consent had been expected. But his words of approval, nonetheless, contained high drama.

After ramming through his authoritarian constitution in a referendum conducted while martial law was in effect in 1980, Chun for five years insisted that no amendment of the charter would be considered. Only in April, 1986, did he relent--on the condition that the ruling and opposition parties agree to revisions through a consensus.

A year of fruitless debate, with the opposition refusing to accept the ruling party’s proposal for a parliamentary system, was ended April 13 when Chun declared that his successor would be chosen under the present constitution’s system of an indirect election, widely considered to be rigged in favor of the government party.

Chun said today that his intention in freezing debate on constitutional reform until after the 1988 Olympics are staged in Seoul was “misunderstood and opposed by many.”

Antagonisms, Demagoguery

Chun said he had refused to accept a direct presidential election because he believed that the system, as it existed in the past, had led to “protracted one-man rule,” fanned regional antagonisms and caused “serious confrontation among citizens from different districts as well as general social confusion.”

“Campaigns were overzealous and demagoguery rampant,” he said. “Those who lost elections refused to accept the results as fair. Thus, a vicious political cycle was perpetuated.”

For the first time, Chun declared, “I clearly recognize . . . the general public has an ardent desire to choose the president directly.”

Thus, no matter how good the ruling party’s proposal for a parliamentary system may have been, “it is of no use if the people do not want it.”

Chun took a swipe at the no-compromise attitude of the opposition, declaring that the government “ought to be sufficiently liberal to unravel the tough political knot . . . especially since there are no prospects for even an iota of concession from the opposition.”

The president said he had accepted Roh’s proposals in an effort to ensure that South Korea will be able to carry out successfully sustained economic development, a peaceful transfer of power, and the 1988 Olympics.

Not since the Republic of Korea promulgated its first Constitution in 1948 has the nation changed leaders peacefully or in a democratic fashion.

Chun said he was worried that “catastrophe might befall the nation” if turmoil in the streets continued.

Saying he had “spent many sleepless nights,” Chun said, “Now is a crucial moment in the destiny of the nation. The time has come to think about today and tomorrow, transcending any and all personal interests, factional advantages and partisan strategies.”

Chun said that during the last eight months of his term, “I will do my utmost to fairly administer the affairs of state from a strictly impartial standpoint and to stringently maintain law and order so that liberal democracy can develop without disruptions.”

The speech, according to a Western diplomat, “takes Chun out of the game . . . out of the range of the opposition. Now it’s Roh Tae Woo’s ballgame.”

Instructions to Cabinet

Even before he gave his speech, Chun on Tuesday began working to carry out Roh’s proposals. Over lunch, he discussed political, legal and administrative steps needed to implement the package with the three Cabinet ministers in charge of those fields. Later, he invited the entire Cabinet to the presidential mansion, the Blue House, and instructed its members to begin work on implementation.

Roh, who met Chun on Tuesday, had already strongly indicated that the president would approve his proposals.

Talking to reporters, he predicted that negotiations with the opposition to implement details of reforms would go smoothly.

“Unlike before, we won’t have to guess each other’s real intentions when we meet,” he said.

Asked what he thought about the people’s response to his proposals, Roh said, “I only did it so that when I look to (heaven in) the sky, I won’t have any shame.

“I realize I cannot only make gestures,” he added. “I have a mountainload of work to be carried out.”

Roh did not spell them out, but the tasks that remain include not only rewriting the constitution but also revising the National Assembly Election Law, the Presidential Election Law, the Government Organization Law and the Basic Press Law by around the end of September.

New legislation also is expected to set up local assemblies, which do not exist now.

Talks on the timing of the presidential election and a decision on whether a National Assembly election also will be held are on the political agenda.

Elsewhere Tuesday, an aura of normalcy and the first signs of reconciliation were appearing.

The last reported demonstration in the nation ended--a sit-in by 80 Catholic priests in Pusan protesting police brutality against two priests and 14 demonstrators aboard a Catholic bus. Father Pak Sung Won said the group broke up because Roh’s reform package “met the people’s aspirations for democracy.”

An alert for the nation’s 120,000-man police force that was ordered June 9 was lifted, and a 350-man squad that had been guarding the headquarters of the ruling party was removed. Riot police took up fire hoses and brooms on the street in front of Korea University to scrub off the residue of the virulent pepper gas they had fired at student protesters.

The Justice Ministry said it has started to sift through a list of 1,100 people jailed for anti-government activities since 1980 to determine who would be given amnesty and restoration of civil rights. However, those convicted of committing “anti-state acts denying the liberal democratic system” and those convicted of murder, arson or destruction of property, will not be free, the ministry said.

Without waiting for Chun’s speech, the opposition Reunification Democratic Party set up a special committee Tuesday to work out a draft proposal for a new constitution. The party also issued a special statement expressing confidence that the military “will support and protect the aspirations of the people for democratization because these are the people’s aspirations, not merely those of a certain political group.”

Kim Dae Jung on Tuesday warned a group of his followers in the opposition party that “along with the people, we should closely watch how the government moves toward democratic reform.”

Times staff writer Mark Fineman also contributed to this story.