One Wrong Word Can Lead to Coordinates... Is 'Munppa' Poison or Medicine? [Seunggon Han's Political Notebook]

Democratic Party's Enthusiastic Supporters 'Moonppa' Positively Evaluated Within Party
Coordinate and Launch Collective Criticism When Expressing Conscientious Opinions
Choi Jangjip "Democracy Crisis... So-called 'ppa' Faction's Political Failure"
Kang Junman "Moon Jae-in Regime's 'Naeronambul' Summary... Almost Everything Is 'Naeronambul'"

Moon Jae-in, then the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is appealing for support at a concentrated campaign rally held on the afternoon of May 4, 2017, at Ilsan Cultural Park in Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] Interpretations surrounding the so-called 'Moonppa,' referring to the ardent supporters of President Moon Jae-in, are divided. Within the Democratic Party of Korea, positive evaluations such as 'energy source,' 'gratitude,' and 'appreciation' are emerging. However, among some progressive professors, there is criticism that the Democratic Party is conducting state affairs solely targeting the 'Moonppa,' which is seen as undermining democracy itself.

Within the Democratic Party, the existence of Moonppa is regarded as common-sense supporters and appreciated as a valuable presence. The interpretation is that Moonppa does not mean blind supporters but rational Democratic Party supporters.

During his presidential campaign, President Moon also expressed gratitude toward these Moonppa. On April 3, 2017, after being confirmed as the presidential candidate, Moon Jae-in, then the former leader of the Democratic Party, said in an interview with a broadcasting station, in response to a question about "18 won donations, text message bombings, and defamatory comments against rival candidates being organized by Moon's supporters," "Such things can happen when competition is fierce. I think they were like seasoning that made our competition more interesting."

Also, on the 23rd of last month, Lee Nak-yeon, the leader of the Democratic Party, attended a Korea Broadcasting Journalists Club debate and positively evaluated the hardline supporters, who are criticized for blocking diverse opinions within the party, as "an 'energy source' that continuously supplies energy."

He said, "Every party has hardline supporters and moderate supporters. Hardline supporters may have positive functions," adding, "However, contrary to concerns, the results of the last party convention showed something surprising. The support rates of the party members, who are mostly hardline supporters, and the general public were similar," and defended, "Hardline supporters may not be special people but very reasonable individuals."

On November 19 last year, President Moon Jae-in held the event "The People Ask, 2019 Dialogue with the People" at MBC in Sangam-dong, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 22nd, Yang Hyang-ja, a Supreme Council member, said in a radio interview regarding the party's pro-Moon faction criticizing former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop, "I feel gratitude and appreciation toward those who look into my inner self, which I cannot see."

Summarizing the opinions of party insiders on the evaluation of Moonppa, those called blind supporters are actually enthusiastic supporters who back the party based on rational common sense.

The problem is that if a lawmaker expresses a different opinion from the Democratic Party's official stance, they are targeted and collectively criticized, so-called being 'marked.' Although the Constitution and the National Assembly Act stipulate that lawmakers perform their duties according to their conscience, there is criticism that they have no choice but to watch out for the Moonppa.

Article 46, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution states, "Members of the National Assembly shall perform their duties according to their conscience, prioritizing the national interest." Article 114 of the National Assembly Act also states, "Members shall vote according to their conscience, not bound by the will of their affiliated party, as representatives of the people." However, due to collective criticism from Moonppa, there is criticism that the party's stance is effectively above the Constitution.

Former Democratic Party lawmaker Geum Tae-seop Photo by Yonhap News

A representative case of a lawmaker who was marked on social media such as Facebook and collectively criticized after showing dissent to the Democratic Party's official stance is former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop.

On the 21st, Geum Tae-seop, who left the Democratic Party, wrote on his Facebook, "I am leaving the Democratic Party. It has been five months since I was disciplined for not following the party's stance on the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and filed an appeal," adding, "It has been two months since the party leadership changed, but the Democratic Party has made no decision and is avoiding responsibility."

Geum said, "There was no rational discussion. They did not even inform me why the decision on the Ethics Committee's warning appeal was delayed. I could not see any sincere analysis or consideration of how the party's judgment would affect the future," and lamented, "I suspect they are just calculating how to receive the least criticism and minimize losses. In this situation, I thought it was better for me to leave."

Meanwhile, lawmaker Park Yong-jin, who made a candid statement regarding allegations of preferential treatment during the military service of Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's son, was also collectively criticized by Moonppa.

On the 16th of last month, in a CBS radio interview, Park said regarding the allegations, "Education and military service are matters of national interest and a sensitive issue for the people," adding, "(The party) keeps looking at this only as 'illegal or not,' but as a fellow lawmaker and someone who served in the military, I feel sorry to the people for the suspicion itself."

Immediately after this statement, ardent pro-Moon supporters flooded Park's Facebook account comments with harsh criticism such as "Please go to the People Power Party," "Are you a Democratic Party X-man?" and "Get a grip!"

On the 14th of last month, fellow party member Cho Eung-cheon said in a Shindonga interview, "The issue started with whether the leave was properly processed or not, but now suspicions about the assignment of an interpreter to a unit have also surfaced," adding, "Various testimonies and evidence are coming out, so the right answer is to reveal everything as it is and quickly reach a conclusion," and like Park, he was heavily criticized by Moonppa.

Park Yong-jin, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker

Meanwhile, eight days after being collectively criticized, on the 23rd of last month, Park Yong-jin expressed his position through his Facebook. Park said, "Politicians must honestly say what they have to say even if they get cursed by supporters, lose elections, or face public neglect," and pledged to continue making candid statements.

However, even on the day he made this statement, Park received all kinds of criticism from pro-Moon supporters. Most of the criticism urged him to leave the Democratic Party and join the People Power Party or simply leave the party.

Given this situation, criticism of Moonppa is also continuing among progressive-leaning professors. From the Democratic Party's perspective, Moonppa can be a kind of 'seasoning' or 'energy source,' but it is also diagnosed as potentially poisonous.

Choi Jang-jip, an emeritus professor of political science and diplomacy at Korea University and a progressive political scientist, wrote in a paper titled "Rethinking Korean Democracy" published in late June in the Seoul National University Korean Politics Research Institute's journal 'Korean Political Studies,' "After the candlelight protests, the emergence of the Moon Jae-in government was expected to be a turning point ushering Korean democracy into a new stage, but now Korean democracy is in crisis," defining, "This crisis stems from the political failure of the elite group of the student activist generation and the so-called 'ppa' forces allied with them."

Also, Kang Jun-man, a professor at Jeonbuk National University, criticized in his book 'Power Changes People's Brains,' published on the 26th, "I stopped midway while listing the 'double standards' cases of the Moon Jae-in administration because almost everything was 'double standards.'"

He further pointed out, "There are regimes that govern targeting ardent supporters, forgetting the obvious fact that 'the level of conservatives determines the level of progressives, and the level of progressives determines the level of conservatives,' and the Moon administration is one of them."