Reactions on Roh's reinstation
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-05-14 10:32

Following are some reactions from a government minister, economists, political experts and market analysts on an announcement by South Korea's Constitutional Court on Friday that it was overturning parliament's vote to impeach President Roh Moo-hyun.

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KIM DONG-IL, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER AT FRANKLIN TEMPLETON INVESTMENT TRUST MANAGEMENT

"The Constitutional Court has cleared away the controversies that had been driving South Koreans apart, enabling the government to move away from the old political issues and start to focus on various economic matters.

Now it is time to see how President Roh Moo-hyun has changed during the last couple of months and which path his party and the government will focus on + growth or distribution."

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OH SUNG-JIN, HEAD OF INVESTMENT STRATEGY AT HYUNDAI SECURITIES

"The decision to nullify the impeachment is seen as a neutral factor for the stock market for now as people had widely expected the decision and the return of the president had already been factored in somewhat.

It could have been a whole different story if the court decided to accept the impeachment and kick the president out of the Blue House.

But it must be positive for the economy as the president will be able to focus more on the economy and proceed with his policies faster and more consistently."

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FOREIGN MINISTER BAN KI-MOON (SPEAKING BEFORE RULING)

"With a majority of seats for the ruling party in the national assembly, I think President Roh can continue to pursue his economic and foreign policy in a more consistent manner."

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JWA SEUNG-HEE, CHIEF ECONOMIST AT KOREA ECONOMIC RESEARCH "He (Roh) returned with even stronger powers. That will enable his government to speed up and execute many pending policies.

"Without argument, his priorities are to create jobs and revive the weak local economy. We also hope he could play a role in helping to calm foreign investors' concerns over conflicts between management and labour unions."

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PARK YOUNG-HO, ANALYST AT KOREA INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL UNIFICATION "I consider the constitutional court made a very shrewd decision.

The impeachment bid was overturned, but the court did not say Roh was completely right given details of grounds for the impeachment, so Roh may need to be more careful from now on.

Regarding North-South relations, I don't expect any drastic change to existing principles even after Roh is reinstated. This may have little impact on the upcoming six-party talks because the talks are more like a dialogue between North Korea and the United States."

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KIM KWANG-DONG, KOREA UNIVERSITY

"It was an expected decision. Even though president Roh Moo-hyun breached election law, it was not serious enough to unseat Roh."

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HAN SEUNG-HUN, ROH'S LAWYER "I respect the constitutional court's decision that minor remarks by the president could not be cause for impeachment. The national assembly should be held responsible for a wrong impeachment motion."

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