[Viewpoint] Biden Resignation Controversy and Korea's Impeachment Politics

What If a Flawed Candidate Emerges?
Lessons from the U.S. Election Crisis and Korea's Reliance on Impeachment

U.S. President Joe Biden is under pressure to withdraw his candidacy, but what if a similar situation occurred in our country? This is not mere curiosity. By observing how American politics handles the issue of a candidate with serious flaws discovered during the election process, there are lessons we can learn.

Although the election results are not yet final, the next U.S. president currently appears likely to be former President Donald Trump. One sign of this is the increasing pressure for Biden’s resignation even within the Democratic Party following the TV debate where concerns about Biden’s advanced age surfaced. According to a recent survey by ABC News and The Washington Post, 62% of Democratic supporters favored Biden’s resignation. Only 14% responded that President Biden is ‘mentally clear.’ The poll also showed that if Vice President Kamala Harris, considered a strong alternative, were to face former President Trump, she would lead 49% to 46%.

As this visible future approaches reality, will President Biden himself, his party?the Democrats?and the American public passively watch, or will they actively avoid this gray rhino-like crisis through the only way to replace a candidate: voluntary resignation?

In fact, essentially the same situation has often occurred in our country’s presidential elections. Witnessing candidates’ remarks or attitudes during campaigns, memories easily come to mind of confirming serious flaws with thoughts like “Can someone with that level of awareness perform the presidency?” or “Is that really the language of someone aspiring to be president?” The shock we felt from past presidential candidates’ ‘poor debate skills’ or ‘absurd intellectual levels’ is by no means weaker than the anxiety American citizens now feel about Biden’s verbal slips or health condition.

The uneasy premonition of “What would happen if such a person became president?” was mostly not wrong. Yet, we were cautious or even unwilling to mention candidate replacement during the election process. When the opposing side attacked ‘lack of qualifications,’ it was common to rally more tightly to defend our candidate. However, our politics often takes the exact opposite stance when such ‘predictable’ events actually occur. The opposition party frequently talks about impeachment, and the ruling party quietly rides the wave of public opinion when presidential approval ratings hit rock bottom.

Voters cannot place the entire responsibility for regretting their decision and paying the costly price of impeachment solely on the president’s incompetence or mistakes. I have always believed that a sincere reflection on our political culture is necessary, especially since sufficient clues were provided during the election process but went unnoticed or were deliberately ignored.

What choice will the U.S. make? Even prominent media outlets supporting the Democratic Party are strongly pressuring President Biden to resign. Among American citizens, the public opinion that escaping is the natural decision in the face of an impending massive tsunami is growing.

It is a painful reminder that we have had ample opportunities to weed out those who should never become president. More important than the bravery toward impeachment is wisdom during the election process. To avoid becoming an unfortunate people caught again in the whirlpool of impeachment, we must find useful lessons from American politics dealing with the Biden resignation controversy.