[Insight & Opinion] The Democratic Party Is Waging 'War,' Not 'Politics'

Sharp Reactions to Lee Jae-myung's Summons
A Need to Reflect on the Reasons for the Crushing Local Election Defeat

[Asia Economy] "What’s the difference between Jeon Du-hwan, who arrested the innocent Kim Dae-jung, and Yoon Seok-yeol, who says he will arrest the innocent Lee Jae-myung?" This was said by Jeong Cheong-rae, a Supreme Council member, following the prosecution’s summons of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. Although there were many mistakes in governance, placing Yoon Seok-yeol on the same level as Jeon Du-hwan or elevating Lee Jae-myung to the same rank as Kim Dae-jung is absurd. He also said, "The Yoon Seok-yeol administration is truly a bad regime, and President Yoon Seok-yeol seems to be a very bad president." This expression recalled the harsh words Park Geun-hye, then leader of the Grand National Party, once directed at President Roh Moo-hyun in 2007.

These days, the words coming from the Democratic Party leadership often make one doubt their eyes and ears. Supreme Council member Go Min-jung criticized, "Quite a lot of budget is consumed on overseas trips," adding, "I saw First Lady Kim Keon-hee also went along, and I wonder why she must always go." While it is known how much the Democratic Party dislikes the First Lady, denying even the basic role of the president’s spouse is bewildering. During the Moon Jae-in administration, First Lady Kim Jung-sook accompanied overseas trips, which sparked controversies such as ‘pyramid tourism’ and ‘clothing expenses.’ In November 2018, when Kim Jung-sook visited India alone on the presidential plane and caused controversy, Go Min-jung was then the deputy spokesperson of the Blue House accompanying her. This proves that humans are indeed creatures of forgetfulness.

Eventually, remarks suggesting impeachment of President Yoon also appeared. Jeong Cheong-rae said, "Many have talked about whether (President Yoon) will complete his term." Supreme Council member Park Chan-dae said, "Please remember that even the power of the president, the highest authority in this country, came down before the candlelight protests." This implies that securing the full term might be difficult. Since the new leadership led by Lee Jae-myung took office, the Democratic Party’s Supreme Council meetings seem to have become a stage for competing over who can make the ‘strongest’ remarks.

The Democratic Party has launched a full-scale ‘Kim Keon-hee attack,’ including proposing a special prosecutor law targeting her, submitting a request for a national audit, forming a fact-finding team, and preparing for the national inspection. They even filed a complaint against President Yoon, who has immunity from prosecution, for false information dissemination. The Democratic Party leadership, already known as one of the most hardline in history, appears to have adopted an ultra-hardline stance due to the summons of Lee Jae-myung. The investigation into Lee is absolutely unacceptable to the Democratic Party.

The opposition party’s role is to criticize and check the government’s failures. However, such criticism and checks must be rational and based on recognizing the other side. Only then can democratic coexistence be possible. But recently, the Democratic Party seems solely focused on demonizing the presidential couple. Only fierce hostility toward the regime is conveyed, with no sign of reflection on how to overcome this vicious cycle of hateful politics.

Perhaps taking the witch’s side, ‘개딸’ fandoms have been bombarding Rep. Jo Jeong-hoon of the Transition Korea party with text messages for opposing the ‘Kim Keon-hee special prosecutor law.’ In this situation, Democratic Party Rep. Park Beom-gye scolded, "I hope Rep. Jo reflects on how he got into the National Assembly." The Democratic Party, which once boasted ‘20 years of power,’ seems to have already forgotten how it lost the regime after just five years and how it suffered a crushing defeat in local elections after pushing through the ‘complete prosecution reform’ law. A text message from Kim Hyun-ji, aide to Lee Jae-myung, who informed him of the prosecution’s summons, said, "This is war." That message was true. What the Democratic Party is doing now is not ‘politics’ but ‘war.’

Yu Chang-seon, Political Commentator