[EDITORIAL] Yet another suicide

The suicide last week of an 89-year-old retired Christian pastor who was active in the progressive reunification movement during the 1990s saddens us. Police said Rev. Kang Hui-nam, the inaugural head of Bomminnyeon, which was outlawed for its pro-North Korean platform, hanged himself at his apartment in Jeonju on Saturday afternoon.

There is no indication that the old leftist activist`s death was related to the suicide of former president Roh Moo-hyun two weeks before, although his family said he was often heard deploring the "retreat of democracy" in this country. His suicide note contained the North Korean political term "juche," which means "independent leading force," and called President Lee a murderer, writing his family name in the North Korean style - Li ().



The death of the man added to Korea`s already large number of suicides. There are more than 12,000 a year, the world`s highest rate. But his advanced age warns that the dismaying trend may be spreading to people of all ages and all kinds of individual situations. We are deeply sorry that his despair from the present political situation grew so big that he could not wait for the natural end of his life.

"Now is the age of the people as `juche.` Look at the people`s struggles in the April 19 (1960) and June (1987) events. Only the people can make this country right. Let us oust murderer Li Myung-bak through the people`s struggle," Kang`s note read. His associates are reported to be planning to honor him in a "social funeral" jointly sponsored by civic groups.

The leftist activists should have a second thought if they are trying to make Kang a martyr for their cause. Everyone knows how different Korea in 2009 is from the dictatorship prior to the student-led revolution in 1960 and the military rule of the 1980s. Holding a serene funeral is an appropriate way of showing respect to the deceased, who seems to have refused to recognize the democratic advancement of our society.