Blood in the Water?

Call it South Korea’s Schwarzenegger option, minus the celebrity. Hong Jun Pyo, a lawmaker with the conservative Grand National Party, says beleaguered President Roh Moo Hyun’s recent call for a national referendum to gauge confidence in his leadership doesn’t go far enough. Hong argues that if a vote is to be held, Roh’s name isn’t the only one that should appear on a ballot—he should face off against another candidate. “People are afraid of confusion and instability,” says Hong. “They want an alternative, like in California.”

Hong’s idea isn’t official Grand National Party policy. But if it catches on, the left-of-center Roh has only himself to blame. His proposal for a mid-December referendum left Koreans stunned and wary, chiefly because he vowed to resign if rejected. Even though corruption scandals and the administration’s indecisiveness have driven Roh’s approval rating down to an anemic 25%, voters fear that his exit would leave them rudderless in the face of a stagnant economy and the North Korean nuclear-weapons crisis. Polls indicate voters would back their leader, who has more than four years left in his presidential term, to avert a descent into chaos.

If nothing else, Roh has temporarily shifted the media spotlight from sleaze to stability. “He’s in a deep hole, so he’s decided to gamble,” says political scientist Kim Il Young of Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul. Roh hinted last week that he might call off the vote, which might not be constitutional, anyway. If he forces the issue, Roh risks exposing his wobbly presidency to unforeseen complications, like Hong’s call for a full-fledged election face-off. However unlikely that may be, the conservative party—which already has a majority in parliament—is rummaging through its ranks for a candidate to run against Roh. Is a casting call in order?