World Notes South Korea

South Korean Opposition Leader Kim Dae Jung won about 45% of the vote for President in 1971, and ranks as a leading contender in elections to choose a successor to President Chun Doo Hwan, whose term expires in 1988. Last week Kim offered to jettison his longtime dream of occupying Seoul's Blue House, provided that the ruling Democratic Justice Party agreed to permit the direct election of the next President. Said Kim: "If I don't stand for the presidency in 1988, the government has no excuse to oppose direct elections."

Chun has agreed to revise the present indirect system of selecting the chief executive, but remains stubbornly opposed to fully democratic elections, which his military-dominated party would probably lose. Instead, he favors a parliamentary system, in which a Prime Minister would be selected on the basis of seats held in the National Assembly. Kim charges that any such election could be rigged in advance to split the opposition and assure the autocratic Chun's continued rule.