South Korean president files petition over freedom of speech

South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun on Thursday appealed to the Constitutional Court against a ruling that his attacks on the opposition are illegal, as the political temperature rose before December's presidential poll.
"President Roh today filed a constitutional petition against the National Election Commission's decision," said presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-Seon.
It is the first time a president has taken such action. Election laws require government officials to remain neutral in elections. Cheon said the president was different from other government staff since he was an elected politician.
"It is unprecedented for a free democracy to curb the president's rights to speak about political issues and respond to attacks (from political opponents)," he said.
"The petition is aimed to correct this abnormal situation and advance political development." In its second ruling in 11 days, the National Election Commission ruled on Monday that Roh breached election laws by attacking the conservative opposition Grand National Party (GNP) and its presidential candidates.
In the first case Roh said on June 2 it would be "horrible to think of the GNP taking power." He said promises by the GNP's leading candidate Lee Myung-Bak of tax cuts would ruin the welfare system.
Roh, who is known for his blunt remarks, was impeached in 2004 by an opposition-controlled parliament for alleged political partisanship and forced to step down briefly. He was reinstated by the constitutional court.
The court must decide within 30 days whether it can accept such a petition. If it does, it has up to 150 more days to make a ruling. Some legal experts said the president was entitled to file such a petition as an individual. Others said the presidency, as a state agency, was barred from challenging another state agency.
Political science professor Lee Nae-Young at Seoul National University said Roh's remarks were a reflection of his "strong interest" in maintaining political influence even as his five-year term nears an end. Under the constitution, the incumbent president is barred from seeking a second term. The term ends next February.
Roh made his latest move despite criticism from the both the pro-government Uri Party and the opposition. Uri urged Roh to accept the election commission's ruling and withdraw the constitutional petition. The Grand National Party accused Roh of seeking to rally his supporters by creating a stir in the election year.
"But it won't help pro-government presidential candidates," said Lee, the professor, adding most of the people were "baffled" by the petition. Progressive forces have held the presidency since 1998 but opinion polls show the conservative GNP far in front before the December 19 election.
A survey carried by the independent Hankyoreh newspaper Monday showed the GNP's Lee Myung-Bak with an approval rating of 40.1 percent compared to 14.7 percent for Park Keun-Hye, a daughter of former president Park Chung-Hee.
The pair are competing for the GNP's nomination in August. No one else received an approval rating higher than 10 percent. The Uri party created by Roh, once the largest in parliament, is disintegrating as more and more legislators leave to create a new party with a broader support base to counter the GNP.