[Column] A sudden change of heart at the Chosun Ilbo

By Kim Jong-cheol, editorial writer

People change over time. And not just in appearance: sometimes their thoughts and values change 180 degrees. Ready examples would be how Kim Yeong-hwan, the godfather of an ardent pro-North Korean group during the '80s, came to be an opponent of Pyongyang, and how professor Ahn Byung-jik, who had always been highly critical of Imperial Japan's rape of Korea, has turned into someone who argues that it was colonial rule that modernized Korea. Gyeonggi Province governor Kim Moon-soo was, once upon a time, a labor activist. But suddenly, he joined the Grand National Party, back when it was the New Korea Party, the ruling party at the time. During a recent speech he said he had "reflected" on the fact that he once said he had "cheered when president Park Chung-hee was assassinated."

But what about when it is not the individual who changes, but instead the world's view of an individual that changes, and over a short period of time? Unless you are someone of firm disposition, it could make you lose your sense of self, direction, or judgment.

On August 21, 2003 the Chosun Ilbo wrote an editorial about the nomination of Chon Hyo-suk to the Constitutional Court, at that time made by the chief justice of the Supreme Court. The Chosun said at that time that it "welcomed" having a female justice. "It is also assuring to see that she is widely regarded as a judge who is not ideologically biased, gives ear to the parties involved in each case, is capable, and enjoys the confidence of others," the paper said. The day before, on page four, it called her "the right candidate, who meets the historical demand for protecting women and minorities."

Three years later, President Roh nominated her to be the Chief of the Constitutional Court. This time, the Chosun Ilbo was against her nomination. "Protecting minorities" is the reason the Chosun Ilbo opposed her bid for the position. "Judge Chon has usually sided with the minority side of things instead of the majority… there has always been a lot talk about Chon, who passed the bar in the same class [as the president], had been secretly chosen for the job" (Chosun Ilbo editorial, August 15, 2006). Yesterday it said she "rose because of shared ideology and fell because of shared ideology." This time around, the paper treated her as almost entirely tied to the president.

Chon, fortunately, is maintaining her usual composure, despite the vicious beatings. She left the center stage of this whole episode, saying she will "return to being a normal citizen and, as a normal citizen, will pray for the peace of the country and development of the nation."

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