Kim Jong-in "Is it time to discuss ideology when it's hard to make a living?"
Yoo Seung-min "Yoon, in an outdated state of ideological excess"
The Korea Military Academy ultimately decided to relocate the bust of General Hong Beom-do outside the academy, intensifying ideological debates in the political sphere. While the government acknowledges General Hong Beom-do's contributions to the independence movement, it points to his communist background as a reason for the need to move the bust.
President Yoon Suk-yeol recently fueled the controversy by stating at a People Power Party retreat that "ideology is the most important." He has consistently emphasized in official settings that liberal democracy should be the nation's guiding value and has strongly criticized communist totalitarianism as its opposing concept.
The sudden ideological debate in politics is widely analyzed as a ruling party strategy for the upcoming general election. By highlighting the confrontation between liberal democracy and communism, the aim is to consolidate conservative supporters. Former People Power Party emergency committee chairman Kim Jong-in appeared on CBS Radio's 'Park Jae-hong's One-on-One Battle' and said, "What other ideology is there besides ideology? Ultimately, it’s about consolidating conservatives, isn’t it?" evaluating that the intention is to rally conservative voters.
However, he expressed skepticism about whether such a strategy could have a positive effect. Former Chairman Kim said, "(The government) seems to think the conservative side is growing, but honestly, this is not the time to debate ideology," adding, "People are more concerned about their daily lives than these ideological issues." He further stated, "This will never help in elections," and "They are misreading public sentiment in the Seoul metropolitan area."
Similar opinions emerged within the ruling party. Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min, in an interview with MBC Radio's 'Shin Jang-sik's News High Kick,' said, "People are struggling to make a living, but the president is not focusing on serious economic and livelihood issues and suddenly declares an ideological war, which is very absurd from the public’s perspective," adding, "With the general election approaching, moderates, the undecided, and reasonable conservatives are important to support the government, but there are concerns that this ideological war might cause them to drift away."
Former lawmaker Yoo continued, "I agree that ideology is important. However, the ideological identity of the Republic of Korea is clearly stated in Article 1 of the Constitution: democracy and republicanism," criticizing, "I have never heard the term 'communist totalitarianism' before, but for the president to use such terms and directly declare an ideological war seems like an outdated and excessive ideological stance."
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