Reagan, Due to Meet S. Korea’s Ruling Party Chief, Also Willing to See His Rivals

In an effort to demonstrate U.S. neutrality in the coming South Korean elections, U.S. officials indicated Thursday that while President Reagan will meet next week with Roh Tae Woo, the leader of South Korea’s ruling party, he would also be willing to see any of 1383032871to Washington.

Roh’s Democratic Justice Party announced earlier this week that he would make a quick visit to Washington--a move that appeared aimed at bolstering his stature at home but one that U.S. officials have feared might create the appearance of American support for his candidacy.

December Vote Planned

In South Korean elections planned for December, Roh is expected to be challenged by either of two leading opposition figures, Kim Young Sam or Kim Dae Jung.

Roh’s impending U.S. trip touched off debate within the Administration over whether he should be permitted to meet with Reagan. If the President receives Roh now, one analyst noted, Reagan would be obligated to see at least one of the South Korean opposition leaders, who might attract greater attention and press coverage than Roh if either of them visits Washington at the peak of the South Korean election campaign.

But Administration officials concluded Thursday that Roh, who played a key role in opening the South Korean political process last June by accepting opposition demands for direct presidential elections, should be granted at least a brief session with Reagan in the White House on Monday.

Asked whether this means that Kim Young Sam or Kim Dae Jung will also be allowed to meet with Reagan, a knowledgeable Administration official replied: “That’s a fair assumption.”

“Our policy is to give equal treatment to all candidates,” another U.S. official said. “We want to get out the message that it’s not our hand on the tiller in South Korea.”

A spokesman for the South Korean Embassy in Washington, Kwang Suk Eom, said Thursday that the mission is providing diplomatic support for Roh in helping to arrange his trip.

“The embassy would provide the same help for the opposition,” Kwang said.

Roh’s plan to visit the White House already has attracted controversy in South Korea. On Thursday, Kim Dae Jung said that any meeting between Roh and Reagan “would be unusual, particularly before the election. . . . I am afraid people may think that the American government favors Roh in the coming election.”

2 Kims Maneuvering

Kim Dae Jung and Kim Young Sam have promised that only one of them will seek the nomination for the South Korean presidency. However, both men have been maneuvering for leadership of the political opposition and so far neither man has expressed a willingness to step aside.

One U.S. analyst said this week that he believes Roh’s coming visit to the White House is aimed at counteracting the favorable publicity that Kim Dae Jung gained this week during a trip to his home province in the southwestern part of the Korean Peninsula.

Last spring, South Korean President Chun Doo Hwan selected Roh to succeed him when Chun’s seven-year term ends next February. In June, after a series of political demonstrations and street clashes across South Korea, Roh suddenly announced that he would accede to opposition demands for direct elections for the presidency.