Yoon Yeo-jun: "Politicians' Language Polarization... Causes Conflict Between Ruling and Opposition Parties"

Political Aides Only Find Extreme Remarks
Parliamentary Democracy Difficult to Achieve
Third Zone Rapidly Rising, Increasing Voters Aged 20-40
Higher Chances of Success Than Before

Former Minister of Environment Yoon Yeo-jun

Former Environment Minister Yoon Yeo-jun pointed out on the 11th that “the biggest problem (in the current political hatred) is that politicians' language is becoming extreme and causing conflicts between the ruling and opposition parties.”

Appearing on KBS Jeon Jong-cheol's Jeonggyeok Sisa, Yoon explained in response to a question about “the reason politics has become hateful and extreme,” “It seems political aides are struggling to find new and extreme expressions, which leads to the polarization of relations between the ruling and opposition parties, making parliamentary democracy difficult.”

Yoon noted, “Parliamentary democracy means that parties with different support bases represent their supporters in the National Assembly, and through dialogue and compromise, create a unified will of the people. However, due to the extremity of political language, this has become impossible.” He added, “In such a situation, parliamentary democracy cannot function,” emphasizing that politicians’ language must move away from extremist behavior.

He positively evaluated the possibility of a third political force emerging, which has come to the surface with Lee Nak-yeon’s new party formation, former leader Lee Jun-seok’s “Reform New Party (tentative name),” and the Democratic Party defections of lawmakers Lee Won-wook, Cho Eung-cheon, and Kim Jong-min under the banner of “Principles and Common Sense.” Yoon said, “Although the third force has repeatedly failed, there is hope this time it might be different,” mentioning that with voters in their 20s to 40s now exceeding 50% of the electorate, the door to the “third force becoming a political power” has opened. He added, “Considering the lessons from previous failures and changes in voter composition, I am hopeful that with stronger consolidation than before, good results can be achieved.”