[Essay Today] Bukgeukseong

February 28, 1986. Olof Palme, former Prime Minister of Sweden, watched a movie with his wife Lisbet and their second son Morten and his spouse. They watched "The Mozart Brothers" at the 'Grand' cinema located at Sveav?gen 45 in Stockholm. It was a comedy film directed by Suzanne Osten. It was a sudden decision. Palme only heard from his wife about watching the movie when he got home at 6:30 p.m. The Prime Minister's residence was in Gamla Stan, the old town of Stockholm. The couple left home at 8:30 p.m. and went to Gamla Stan station. From there, they took the subway to Rodmansgatan station and walked over three blocks to reach the theater. There were no bodyguards. The Prime Minister had sent the bodyguards off duty at 11 a.m. that Friday.

The movie ended around 11 p.m. The Prime Minister and his wife parted ways with their son and his spouse around 11:15 p.m. Did they intend to take the subway home? They walked toward the H?torget station, located south of the theater. When the couple reached the intersection of Sveav?gen Avenue and Tunnelgatan Street, it was about 11:21 p.m. At that moment, two gunshots rang out. The first bullet, fired from behind by an assailant, pierced the Prime Minister's chest. The second bullet injured Lisbet, who threw herself over her fallen husband. At 11:28 p.m., a passing ambulance transported the victims to the hospital within about three minutes. However, the Prime Minister had already passed away. At 12:06 a.m. on March 1, a doctor confirmed his death.

There were witnesses. They testified that the assailant fled eastward along Tunnelgatan Street. The only forensic evidence left at the scene were two bullets. The bullets matched the metal traces and composition found on the clothes of the Prime Minister and his wife. Two years later, Swedish police arrested drug addict Christer Pettersson as a suspect but had to release him due to insufficient evidence. The culprit was never caught. As time passed, the statute of limitations (25 years) expired on February 28, 2011. Then, the Swedish Parliament, responding to citizens' demands, abolished the statute of limitations for this case.

What kind of person was Palme, the politician most beloved by Swedish citizens? He was born in 1927 into a successful business family in Stockholm and studied economics at Stockholm University. In 1947, he went to the United States and attended Kenyon College in Ohio. Near the end of his studies abroad, he hitchhiked across the United States and Mexico, witnessing the lives of the lower classes. Palme later said, "America made me a socialist" when he became Prime Minister. His image evokes Ernesto Che Guevara, the 'icon of 20th-century revolution,' even in death.

Palme succeeded Tage Erlander as Prime Minister in 1969 and served two terms until 1976 and from 1982 to 1986. He is regarded as a politician who completed Sweden's social democracy and welfare policies. He amended the constitution, transforming Sweden from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional democracy. He replaced employment flexibility with stronger job security and raised the tax burden, which had been lower than the European average, to one of the highest levels in the world, strengthening universal welfare. (Lee Seok-won) Sweden finally realized a high-welfare society guaranteeing free education and lifelong income.

The British economic weekly The Economist described Sweden as the "North Star" in its June 11, 2011 issue, meaning a guiding beacon for welfare states worldwide. Palme's dream of a "human-centered just economy" has become the goal of many politicians today.

Heo Jin-seok, poet and professor at Korea National Sport University