'Crisis of Trust and the Swamp of Vicious Cycles'
The Public Sphere Narrowed by Fandom Fear
Hardcore Supporters Create Defeat Lists for Retribution
The motion to consent to the arrest of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, was narrowly rejected, triggering a fierce backlash. Within the party, the emergence of a large number of rebel votes has raised concerns about a crisis of trust, and party members supporting Lee have targeted and begun to root out non-Lee (Bi-Lee-myeong) faction lawmakers as election losers, creating a vicious cycle. There are concerns that the landscape of public discourse within the party will become even narrower in this process.
According to political circles on the 1st, the Democratic Party was clearly shocked and bewildered by the surprising result that the motion to consent to the arrest of Lee, which they had confidently expected to be overwhelmingly rejected, actually received more votes in favor than against. What particularly draws attention is the issue of trust. Former Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Jae-sung criticized on SBS Kim Tae-hyun's News Show, saying, "The Bi-Lee-myeong faction lawmakers who advocated for rejection used a kind of trick," and added, "Even if their concern for the party, saying 'Lee Jae-myung won't do,' or 'How can we hold the general election like this?' is sincere, within the same party, to use the party leader's issue to effectively commit a kind of false act is problematic."
Democratic Party lawmaker Park Beom-gye also said on KBS Radio Choi Kyung-young's Choi Kang Sisa, "If there were any disagreements, they should have been transparently revealed, but they were not publicly disclosed," and added, "It is truly regrettable because we cannot tell whether it was a difference in policy line, methodology, or if persuasion was possible."
Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Min-seok stated via social media (SNS), "The secretive voting method without any public assertion or debate during the party's discussion process is wrong no matter how you think about it," and said, "Some opinions that said 'It would be better to vote in favor and undergo the warrant review' were honest." Kim pointed out, "This vote is essentially a political expression regarding the legitimacy of the prosecution's investigation and warrant request, so although the format was a secret ballot, it is fundamentally a matter where one should clearly reveal their position to the public. A conviction that cannot be asserted is not a conviction, and if it was collectively discussed, it is a shameful tactic for not being forthright."
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is seen conversing with fellow lawmakers after delivering a personal statement regarding the submission of a motion for his arrest at the plenary session held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 27th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
Looking at the actual voting results, the combined total of 114 People Power Party lawmakers (excluding lawmaker Jeong Chan-min, who is currently detained), 6 Justice Party lawmakers, and Jo Jeong-hoon of the Sidaejeongsin party, who are presumed to have voted in favor of the motion to consent to the arrest, amounts to 121 votes. Therefore, it can be inferred that at least 18 lawmakers from the Democratic Party or those who previously held Democratic Party membership voted in favor of the party leader's arrest consent motion. Additionally, the significantly increased 9 abstentions and 11 invalid votes compared to the past are also interpreted as a form of political expression rather than mistakes. While this reflects a failure to gauge internal party opinion, such voting was at least not publicly a matter of concern within the Democratic Party.
It is noteworthy that this is considered just the tip of the iceberg. Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Sang-min appeared on CBS Radio Kim Hyun-jung's News Show and claimed, "The numbers on the surface are just the tip of the iceberg," adding, "The iceberg beneath the surface is large."
The cowardice behind the mass rebel votes was partly due to the organized actions of hardline party members known as the 'fandom.' For example, regarding the motion to consent to the arrest of Lee, former Democratic Party emergency committee member Park Ji-hyun appealed via SNS, saying, "I am prepared to endure tenfold or a hundredfold the insults and criticisms I have heard so far to appeal to the leader," and urged, "The motion to consent to the arrest must pass. All Democratic Party lawmakers should participate in the vote and strongly be instructed to vote in favor, giving up the privilege of non-arrest as promised during the presidential election." The idea was that Lee should directly undergo the warrant review to dispel concerns about judicial risks or at least sacrifice himself to shake off the image that the main opposition party is mired in a bulletproof parliament."
However, Park's appeal was met with insults and criticisms multiplied tenfold or a hundredfold. A petition was posted on the Democratic Party's National Response Center demanding Park's expulsion or disciplinary action, and more than 50,000 people agreed, showing a clear atmosphere of retribution.
At this point, conviction has become a matter of risking one's political life. Considering next year's general election nomination schedule, it has become impossible to ignore the strong support base of Lee within the party members. The result was revealed in this vote on the motion to consent to the arrest.
The problem is that this pattern could intensify further due to this motion. In fact, on SNS and elsewhere, there have been cases of identifying Democratic Party lawmakers who voted in favor of the motion based on their past positions on party issues and targeting them as election losers. As public opinion is mobilized in a way to 'root out reactionaries,' the internal discussion landscape is likely to become more extreme. While the space for public discourse narrows, the lawmakers targeted as election losers are bound to resist even more.
Currently, since the vote was anonymous, it is impossible to know who made which choice, leading only to mutual suspicion. Some lawmakers try to provide alibis by indicating opposition to the motion via SNS, attempting to avoid responsibility. A Democratic Party official commented on the number of rejection votes, which was far below the party's seat count, saying, "In Agatha Christie's work 'Murder on the Orient Express,' the culprit is everyone on the train," adding, "It's like that."
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