A common point shared by the eight former presidents who have been in power since South Korea came into being as a country in 1948 is that they all disgraced themselves in one way or another.

Rhee Syng-Man went into exile and Park Chung-Hee was assassinated. Yuh Bo-Seon and Choi Kyu-Hah left office midway through their terms. Chun Doo-Hwan and Roh Tae-Woo both served prison terms, while sons of both Kim Young-Sam and Kim Dae-Jung were detained by the authorities.

The incumbent president, Roh Mu-Hyun, having been impeached by Parliament, has also now entered into this "Hall of Disgrace.''

Slightly more than one year has elapsed since Roh's inauguration. It is a tragedy that the head of state has suddenly been forced to suspend his role and be confined to his official residence. It can, however, be said that impeachment of the current president represents further progress in the democratization of South Korea. No major trouble has arisen, with the stock market, which was for a period in rapid decline, having rebounded.

This is proof that South Korean society has to some extent matured. With Roh having continued the "Sunshine Policy" launched by former President Kim Dae-Jung, North Korea's response to the new development went no further than blaming the impeachment on the unjust actions of the conservative party. Its stance was different from past incidents when Pyongyang agitated against Seoul.

The disgraceful history of previous presidents can be attributed to various factors such as the periods of their dictatorships being prolonged, the tyranny and corruption of their associates, and the way in which they either ignored or scorned the public will. The current impeachment is not an exception to this. Political haggling among political parties relating to the imminent election was also a factor. However, the neglect of the public will by the president and the opposition parties was the impetus for the paralysis of presidential functions known as the "supra-large accident."

Two opposition parties proposed the impeachment bill, saying that the president had violated the country's election law and was ruining the nation's economy and politics. However, taking the view that such reasons were inadequate to justify impeachment, more than 60 percent of the public opposed the bill. At the same time, though, 60 percent of the public demanded that the president apologize to them for the dubious acts of his close aides and his repeated expressions of support for the ruling party. The public was thus counseling against both the injustice of the impeachment by the opposition parties and the president's rashness.

The president, however, deliberately ignored the voice of the public. At a press conference the day before the vote on the impeachment bill, he comprehensively criticized the opposition parties' claims, which action had the effect of pouring fuel on flames. There is a strong possibility that, if the president had apologized directly to the South Korean public, some of the opposition party members who were not in favor of impeachment would have ended up not supporting the bill.

It is said that South Korean politics is a cause of concern for the public as it impedes the development of the country's economy and society. The current fuss over the impeachment is a typical example. The South Korean public's civic awareness has been enhanced through their experience of the long democratic struggle against military regimes and several peaceful changes in political power. The pressing issue now for Korean politicians is to fill in the gap between the public will and their own actions.