Jin Joong-kwon: "Democratic Party, Seriously Malfunctioning... A Frustrating Situation"

Jin Joong-kwon, former professor at Dongyang University / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon criticized the Democratic Party of Korea and its supporters, saying, "Not only the party and government but also the political culture of the progressive camp, including its supporters, has fallen into a trap."

On the 18th, Jin wrote on his Facebook, "It is seriously broken even if it is broken. It is a crisis, but they don't even realize it is a crisis."

He claimed, "The lawmakers only look forward to their nominations and have no interest in what happens to the party," adding, "Even the very few lawmakers who have a sense of problem are afraid to speak out because they might be 'seasoned' by the fanatical pro-Moon Jae-in supporters."

He continued, "If they can't speak up inside, they should at least speak up outside, but because the fanatical supporters collectively 'season' them, criticism outside is also impossible," and added, "The Democratic Party seems to enjoy this situation. They must like that their fellow citizens' mouths are being shut to prevent criticism."

Jin said, "Because of this inside and outside, no matter how much warnings come from outside, they don't understand. If you point out mistakes, they immediately label you as an enemy," and added, "The sentiment of 'sorry we couldn't protect you' that arose after President Roh Moo-hyun's death also contributed to making them insensitive to the crisis."

He went on, "Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun were thorough liberal democrats," and claimed, "The young 386 generation became the mainstream 586 and made the president. As they took control of the party and government, the country's political culture suddenly became tainted by the 1980s activist culture."

He said, "Digging into fellow citizens' personal information, burying those with differing opinions, treating opponents as enemies to be eliminated, and viewing voting as a means to annihilate enemies can never be called a liberal political culture," and added, "Because the Moon Jae-in administration's political philosophy is fundamentally different, shocking things keep happening to those who saw it as a continuation of Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun."

Finally, Jin said, "Although it's late, they should come to their senses now, but this is a worldview error, so it will be difficult to correct," and added, "They will resolve this cognitive dissonance with various logics, create a world where they have done nothing wrong, and live inside it, so even if they fail, it won't be a problem that can be solved. It's a frustrating situation."