By Kim Seong-kon, Professor of English Literature

Recently, the Roh Moo-hyun scandal has stirred the whole country. The former South Korean president, who was once so self-righteous that he ruthlessly condemned so many people for corruption, ironically enough, may turn out to be a hopelessly corrupt politician himself. Many Koreans are shocked and dumbfounded at the embarrassing scandal that our ex-president - who constantly bragged about his moral superiority - may have proved himself to be nothing but another impudent corruptor who took astronomical bribes during his presidency.

Some people have already attached various humorous nicknames to Roh such as"the six-million dollar man," since suspicions were raised that Roh unabashedly swallowed $6 million in bribery. People also call him"Noe Mool-hyun" a pun that indicates he is a man of bribery since the Korean word"noemool" means"bribery." They also changed the name"Roh Sa Mo" (Roh Lovers Society) to the more appropriate nickname"Noe Sa Mo" (Bribery Lovers Society). Roh is also called"Wan show nam," which means,"a perfect pretender/charlatan," a pun derived from"Wan so nam," meaning"a perfectly admirable man."

Other people unanimously expressed their dismay."He said he was a poor but honest man," they said."After he promised to put an end to all corruptions, after he harangued that he was nothing if not a man of moral integrity!"

They also wonder,"Wasn't he an advocate of a socialist revolution that would bring equal distribution of wealth in our society?" How, then, could he take bribes? People are also puzzled,"Wasn't he a stout anti-American who once said, 'What's wrong with anti-Americanism?'" Why then, did he send his son to an American university for his graduate studies and make him get a job there.

Of course, we need to wait until the final verdict finds him guilty before we criticize Roh. Nevertheless, it seems undeniable that he was far from a"poor but honest" man. Instead, he appears to be a greedy man who, like a hungry hippo, allegedly gulped suspect money even when he was in office. While pretending to be a defiant critic of capitalism and U.S. imperialism, he seems to be a corrupt capitalist and quasi pro-American, if the accusations are true.

Quite a few disciples of Roh, who are invariably anti-American, also send their children to the United States for schooling. But did they not preach to us that the United States was a notorious"imperialist" country that we should vehemently denounce?

Unless they send their children to America for espionage, their contradictory behavior betrays their beliefs in every sense. Yet they do not seem to care. When their political stance is complicated, they almost always seek shelter in the United States. Even when they commit crimes and are pursued by the police, they flee to America as well.

People may wonder:"Why the United States? Why not to Russia or China?" Perhaps they may conclude:"What's wrong with taking advantage of what the United States can offer?" Well, it is wrong to betray and backstab your beneficiary.

Roh's disciples who seized political power in the Roh administration were those who were power-hungry and susceptible to taking bribes. Many of them were persecuted by the military dictatorship in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They have seldom earned money or paid taxes, for they had been busy campaigning as underground political activists. Suddenly they found themselves wielding mighty power in a place surround by immense wealth. That might be the reason why they became intoxicated by political and monetary power. Abraham Lincoln, whom Roh ironically revered and mistook as his precursor, once said:"Nearly all men can withstand adversity; if you want to test a man's character, give him power." Alas! Roh and his followers completely seem to have failed this test.

We acknowledge that they fought the dictatorship three decades ago. The problem was that they fought against the dictators perhaps too long. Roh and his disciples devastated South Korea with their politically-correct cocksureness and self-righteousness, and tore the nation apart by deliberately dividing the Korean people: conservatives vs. progressives, haves vs. have-nots, privileged vs. underprivileged etc. With unprecedented populism, they eventually turned a decent country into a noisy marketplace where people full of vengeance yell at each other with vulgar language.

Watching the Roh family going down in infamy, we sadly recollect the harangue Roh uttered when he was our president:"I will personally make those who give or take bribes ruined, not only himself but also his entire family." It was Nietzsche who once said:"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze into you." Nothing seems more befitting to Roh and his pathetic Leftist clan than Nietzsche's insight.