Sunday, November 18, 2007

Somebody Call the Guiness Book

Late last twelvemonth when his three-year term was coming to an end, Earl Of Warwick Morris, the British Ambassador to Korea, asked his authorities for a one-year extension so that he could remain to see through the presidential election. He will now go forth Korean Peninsula in late January as he wished. He must be pleased with his decision. The Economist magazine have described the presidential race as a "kaleidoscope." A diplomatist at the American Embassy in Capital Of South Korea said in a private meeting recently, "The election political campaign is like a salesroom -- showing anything that tin possibly go on in an election."

John C. Turmel is a perennial campaigner in Canada, and the holder of the Alec Guinness Book of Records lists for the most elections contested and the most elections lost.

Turmel, 56, have so far lost 66 federal and provincial elections in a political calling he began at age 28. But his record, a mere repeat of yearly campaigns, is negligible compared with the Korean presidential race. It is so prevailing with records that the Alec Guinness Book might see gap a new chapter just for the 17th presidential election in Korea.

First, United New Democratic Party flooring leader Kim Hyo-seuk said not long ago that intuitions about Thousand National Party campaigner Spike Lee Myung-bak's engagement in wrong-doings mightiness be suitable for the Alec Guinness Book. So mightiness the opinion party's negative campaigning. Despite their busy schedules, UNDP lawmakers are preoccupied with trying to delve up soil from Lee's past or to slander him.

The GNP's defensive attitudes might also be suitable for the Alec Guinness Book. A record figure of lawyers are now working for the resistance party. The leading listing of legal guns even wowed Kim Kyung-jun, Lee's former concern spouse and the ex-chief of investing house BBK and premier suspect in the BBK scandal. Kim was extradited to Capital Of South Korea last Friday. There is no election in the human race that have no negative campaigning. But there can be nil like the current election in Korean Peninsula that began with mudslinging and have continued with mudslinging as well.

Second, the opinion political party have merged with other political groupings within the broader opinion encampment three times, and founded new political parties or changed its name four modern modern times since May. It have called itself the United Centrist Reform Party, the United Centrist Democratic Party, the United New Democratic Party, and now the United Democratic Party. This must be a new record for how frequently a political party can change its name in such as a short period.

Last month, gross national product president Kang Jae-sup said in mention to the opinion camp's enlisting of shade voters and the illegal usage of President Roh Moo-hyun's name for its primary that such as ugly patterns are suitable for the Alec Guinness Book of Records. So leadership of both the opinion and the resistance encampments have got criticized each other for being suitable for the records book.

Third, polling agencies, which are normally supposed to bring forth mention information about elector trends, have got been turned into election agencies. In August, the gross national product employed sentiment polls to assist find its primary winner, using a 20% expression to convert responses from 5,490 surveyed people into 32,724 ballots.

The United Democratic Party will bring forth a single united candidate, either Chung Dong-young Oregon Rhee In-je, based on the consequences of a opinion poll to be conducted on Friday and Saturday. That do the political party members and delegates only idle spectators. If things maintain going like this, all other election procedures might stop up as mere formalities.

There are more than things that mightiness also be suitable for the Alec Guinness Book -- the frequence of the president's onslaughts on both opinion and resistance candidates, the frequence of a former president's intervention in the political campaign to back up a specific political group, and the entry into the race by a former resistance candidate. There are still 30 years left before the election, and there could be more than records coming. The state of affairs itself is also suitable for the records book.

People wonder at entries in the Alec Guinness Book of Records. Foreigners will wonder at the Korean presidential race. But for Koreans, the presidential election cannot be a joke. Of course, there are brilliant and fantastic entries in the Alec Guinness Book as well. Korean electors should pass down a austere judgement to their politicians who do only ugly ones.

This column was contributed by Joo Yong-joong, from the Chosun Ilbo's National/Politics Desk.

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