A Square Divided by Left and Right Extremes... The True Face of the Condolence Political Climate

Divided South Korea Over the Death of Late Mayor Park Won-soon

Political Circles Responsible for Rallying Support
Urged to Refrain from Extreme Criticism and Slander
Calm Response Needed to Understand the Facts After Mourning

The portrait of the late Mayor Park Won-soon is being moved to the memorial park after the funeral ceremony at Seoul City Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 13th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporters Byungdon Yoo, Jeongyun Lee] The self-reflective voices lamenting that South Korea has been split into two over the sudden death of the late Park Won-soon, Mayor of Seoul, have continued until the 13th, the day his funeral was held. Behind this, there are pointed criticisms that the political sphere bears significant responsibility for either rallying their support base or expressing extreme hatred toward the opposing side.

Professor Jeongwoo Koo of the Department of Sociology at Sungkyunkwan University said in a phone interview that day, "From refraining from extreme criticism or slander, confrontation can find an opportunity for resolution." He added, "Although (the sexual harassment allegations against Mayor Park) were closed due to lack of prosecutorial jurisdiction, since there remains the task of understanding the situation and clarifying responsibility, the ruling party and Seoul city government need to ascertain the facts and prepare countermeasures," urging a calm response of fact-finding after mourning. A political science professor at a Seoul university, who requested anonymity, also expressed regret, saying, "The Park Won-soon condolence political climate exposed a decisive scene of division in our society," and "It is the result of 'divide-and-conquer politics' mired in ideological approaches without objectively viewing the death."

During the three days of funeral proceedings for Mayor Park, who was found dead on the 10th, debates over his achievements and faults erupted throughout society. From the Seoul National University Hospital funeral hall and the citizen memorial altar set up at Seoul Plaza, the left and right clashed extremely. In online spaces, sharp and excessive disputes continued. A representative example is the Blue House national petition opposing the state funeral for the Mayor of Seoul. As of 10 a.m. on the 13th, the petition posted on the 11th, titled "Should the public watch a lavish five-day funeral for a prominent politician who committed suicide amid sexual harassment allegations?" had 560,986 signatures. The YouTube channel 'Garo Sero Research Institute' filed an injunction to prohibit the Seoul mayoral funeral, but the court dismissed it. Near the citizen memorial altar, a woman held a one-person protest condemning the sexual harassment allegations. She held a sharp sign saying, "Do not deify Mayor Park. Oppose the wasteful Seoul mayoral funeral funded by taxpayers."

On the other hand, most mourners visiting the citizen memorial altar that day expressed condolences while appreciating the late mayor’s achievements. Some supporters wept openly in grief. Jang Mo (45), a Seoul resident, said, "When I first heard the news of his passing, my heart felt heavy and it seemed like the world was collapsing." Bae Mo (34), a Gyeonggi Province resident, said, "I was not a supporter of Mayor Park Won-soon, but I thought it was right to pay respects to his final path as someone who worked for democracy, so I visited the memorial altar," adding, "I don’t think there is a need to belittle the achievements he made." As of 10 a.m. on the 13th, 1.05 million people had paid tribute at the online memorial altar set up on the Seoul city website. By the previous day, 20,000 people had paid their respects at the Seoul City Hall Plaza where the memorial altar was established.

The political sphere is not free from criticism for playing a role in fueling such ideological conflicts, and experts diagnose that civil society, which followed suit, also needs self-reflection. The ruling party showed attitudes of condoning or outright denying the sexual harassment allegations against Mayor Park, while the opposition also stirred division by refusing to pay respects, thereby provoking their support bases. Amid this social atmosphere, secondary harm against the victim who accused Mayor Park of sexual harassment is also rampant. On the 10th, a progressive online community even saw comments such as, "Because of the phrase 'slept several times with a servant' in the war diary, should Admiral Yi Sun-sin not be respected?" On the conservative side, posts mocking Mayor Park by comparing him to animals flooded, and a YouTuber posted a video inflicting secondary harm by describing unverified sexual harassment victim details in detail to slander Mayor Park.