[Inside Chodong] The Democratic Party Has Lost Reflection and Self-Examination

Parliamentarianism Silenced Under the Banner of Election Mandate
No Sign of the Self-Reflection Seen at the Party Convention Two Years Ago

On the 3rd, when the Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act was submitted as an agenda item for the plenary session, Bae Jun-young, the senior deputy floor leader of the People Power Party, asked opposition party lawmakers.

"Is the current conduct of the National Assembly members the way you all pledged to carry out your legislative activities? Can you proudly say that you are building the 22nd National Assembly like this for the people? Can you attach the word ‘Deobureo’ (Together) in front of the Democratic Party’s name?"

Every time the question was posed, a confident "Yes" burst out. It was the Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers. Although the question was not asked as praise for doing well, there was not even a trace of hesitation in their answers. Through a plenary session procedural speech, Bae tried to reprimand the opposition’s unilateral procedural moves and urge reflection, but faced with the opposition lawmakers’ overwhelming confidence, he was momentarily at a loss for words.

During the early stages of unlimited debate coverage on the Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act, witnessing this scene was shocking. How could such confidence come from the Democratic Party, which had shown only unilateral dominance by the opposition without even taking the oath a month after becoming lawmakers?

With the inauguration of the 22nd National Assembly, the Democratic Party has shown an unrestrained attitude. Riding on the mandate of the general election, the Democratic Party no longer seemed bound by values such as ‘parliamentarism’ and ‘cooperation.’ It raced forward as if the only lesson learned from the 21st National Assembly, which was called the worst, was that values like respecting parliamentary customs or bipartisan agreements must be boldly discarded. They appeared to be striving solely to prove their clarity as the opposition party.

The self-assurance of ‘I am right’ was not only to be demonstrated in confrontations with the ruling party but had to become a basic quality of Democratic Party lawmakers. Regarding the referral of the impeachment motion against four prosecutors to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Democratic Party lawmaker Kwak Sang-eon supported three but abstained on one, believing that the evidence was insufficient to judge impeachment approval or disapproval after only hearing the proposal explanation. Since it was not a final impeachment, he reserved judgment. Later, despite explaining that he was ‘a party who had personally experienced unfair investigations and oppression by prosecutors for a long time’ and that he would ‘undoubtedly support the impeachment of prosecutors with clear reasons,’ he faced near collective lynching criticism within the party. The National Assembly Act, which states that ‘a member votes according to conscience without being bound by the party’s opinion as a representative of the people,’ had no place.

Two years ago, at the party convention, a different conversation emerged within the Democratic Party. There was self-reflection that ‘we fell into arrogance and dogmatism, thinking we were absolutely right.’ At that time, the Democratic Party pushed through legislative drives such as the three lease laws, the Tada ban law, and the complete prosecution reform law, but there was reflection on the laws that only brought disastrous results. However, in just two years, the reflection that ‘we can also be wrong’ disappeared. Instead, a conviction beyond ‘we are right’ is now demanded.

Professor Shin Young-bok of Sungkonghoe University, who is known as the origin of the ‘Deobureo’ in the Democratic Party’s official name, often quoted a writing called ‘The Trembling Magnetic Needle,’ emphasizing intellectual self-reflection. The writing concludes, ‘If the tip of that needle stops trembling and fixes on one side, we must discard it. It is no longer a magnetic needle.’ It is a warning that if self-examination about whether the direction one pursues is correct disappears, it no longer points to the right direction. I am curious. Do you truly think you are carrying out the legislative activities you envisioned when you sincerely decided to run for office?