He promised in 1997 that the country's democracy would be burnished and its shattered economy remodelled, but voters see next to no change. They are making their displeasure felt as well as smelt. He's seen as a lame duck leader 19 months from a presidential election he is barred from contesting under a constitution that allows only one term. His party was thrashed in local by-elections in late April. The economy is in a tailspin, exposing his patchy record on reform.
Major parties bicker endlessly, instead of trying for compromise.
The man who promised to be different from his predecessors is now accused of ruling in the same high-handed manner. Elected during the Asian financial crisis and with a mandate for sweeping change, Kim now presides over a political disaster zone. The disillusionment of Cho and so many others has huge implications for South Korea's next president. Kim Dae Jung's Millennium Democratic Party blames the economy for its low standing. Now the economy has slumped and it's back to that figure.