Significant Differences in Interpreting the Voice of the People
Ahead of the April 10 general election, the political sphere identified ‘livelihood’ as the key sentiment among the public during this Lunar New Year holiday. While both ruling and opposition parties launched all-out efforts to win over public opinion at the family dining tables during the holiday, there were significant differences in how they interpreted the voices of the people. The ruling party assessed that they received demands and encouragement to focus on revitalizing the economy for ordinary citizens, whereas the opposition harshly criticized the government and ruling party for neglecting the lives of the people.
On the 8th, ahead of the major national holiday Seollal, travelers are boarding trains at Seoul Station. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
On the 13th, Kim Du-kwan, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, appeared on YTN Radio’s ‘News King with Park Ji-hoon’ and said, “It is the third year since the new government took office, but due to failures such as the unsuccessful bid for the Busan Expo, even evaluations from strongholds of the People Power Party like Yangsan and Busan in Gyeongnam were cold.” Kim added, “During the Lunar New Year holiday, I met many young self-employed people running restaurants mainly in food alleys, and there were many demands to decisively judge the Yoon Suk-yeol government in this general election.”
When asked about the ‘key words at the Lunar New Year dining table,’ he said, “KBS aired a recorded New Year interview with President Yoon Suk-yeol, which made people wonder if it was a ‘fixed game’ (jjagochineun gostop). People showed interest in this,” adding, “President Yoon moved the presidential office to Yongsan during his candidacy, claiming that the Blue House was like a secluded palace and that the move was to communicate directly with the people, but the purpose seems to have been lost, which drew criticism.”
On the other hand, Jang Ye-chan, former Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, said, “There was a public sentiment during the Lunar New Year holiday that the government should still work and create an environment where it can work to solve livelihood issues.”
Jang, a prospective candidate for Suyeong District in Busan from the People Power Party, said, “Especially in Busan, where the economy is tough and livelihoods are harsh, the public sentiment seemed to be that the government should be supported to be able to work. There was a widespread feeling that the opposition party has been holding the government back for the past two years,” adding, “Many people also said things like, ‘Why isn’t Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader, in prison? Why isn’t he being arrested? What on earth is going on?’”
On the same day, Go Min-jung, a Democratic Party lawmaker, appeared on CBS Radio’s ‘Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show’ and said, “The president’s New Year interview was undoubtedly the hot topic, and even conservative media criticized President Yoon for not apologizing over Kim Keon-hee’s luxury bags, which was not very different from public sentiment.” She continued, “One common point among the public sentiment heard by both ruling and opposition parties was that prices are too high,” pointing out, “There is clearly a call to judge the Yoon government’s economic policies related to soaring prices, such as zucchinis costing 3,500 won each.”
However, the ruling party shifted blame for the worsening economic sentiment to the previous Moon Jae-in administration. Kim Eun-hye, former presidential office spokesperson, said on KBS Radio’s ‘Jeon Jong-cheol’s Jeonggyeok Sisa’ regarding Lunar New Year public sentiment, “Overwhelmingly many people talked about who will provide the house they will live in and who will protect their home in the future, among concerns about housing and jobs,” adding, “In the past, the Democratic Party divided people who owned a house and those who did not and imposed punitive tax bombs, which many people still have trauma over.”
Kim, who is running as a prospective candidate for Bundang-eul in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, said, “Residents of Bundang are currently suffering from livelihood difficulties due to over 30 years of aging housing, stagnant metropolitan transportation, and parking issues,” emphasizing, “A candidate running for the National Assembly here naturally has the obligation to listen to the long-standing wishes of the residents.” He added, “When the government recently announced plans to ease reconstruction regulations, the Democratic Party’s floor spokesperson immediately opposed it as election populism and even said it would ruin people’s lives,” continuing, “This revealed how negatively the Democratic Party views reconstruction, and residents expressed anxiety that if the Democratic Party wins the general election, reconstruction of aging cities including first-generation new towns will become a distant hope.”
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