[Slate] The Wall of 'Fury' Blocking the Veteran and Baeksulgongju

Misconstruing Popular Opinions and Established Procedures as Truth
Groups That Doubt Plans but Refrain from Criticism
Policies Detached from Reality Like Medical Gaps... Rooted in 'Gyeokno'
'Veteran 2' and 'Baeksulgongju...' Demand Self-Control from Those in Power

Actor Kwon Hae-hyo recently appears as a police officer on both the big and small screens. In the movie Veteran 2, he plays a police superintendent of the violent crime investigation unit, while in the drama Death to Snow White, he portrays a police chief. The former only looks out for his own safety. He tries to quickly close the complexly entangled case. He defines the distorted evidence and data before his eyes as the truth.

The latter manipulates and conceals the truth of the case despite knowing it. He conspires with the villagers and frames an innocent person for murder. As multiple voices gather, the claim solidifies into truth. No one suspects that someone is being falsely accused.

People tend to trust what others believe. This is even more so when it comes from an authority figure like the police officer played by Kwon Hae-hyo. This phenomenon is called "social proof." People mistake popular opinions or widely accepted procedures for the truth. Sometimes, even when it leads to tragic outcomes, it takes a long time to recognize it as a collective illusion.

You can see this just by looking at portal sites or social networks. Most internet users consider news with many "likes," "shares," or "retweets" to be more important and valuable. Social network bots also lend social power to this trend. People who only stick with those who share their views experience only themselves. Good things rarely come from identical thinking.

Psychologist Irving Janis studied why groups composed of highly intelligent and capable people sometimes make partially irrational decisions. He focused on the Bay of Pigs invasion operation. This was an incident in 1961 when the United States, led by the CIA, invaded Cuba to overthrow the Fidel Castro regime.

The operation ended in a disastrous failure. Janis attributed the cause to all participants sharing the same opinion during the planning stage. He criticized that no one played the devil’s advocate role by criticizing the operation or proposing alternatives.

The so-called "groupthink" occurs when all members of a group hold the same opinion and confirm their views with each other. Even if someone has doubts about a plan, no one voices criticism. Instead, they submit to others’ thoughts and follow the behavior desired by the group.

Detective Seo Do-cheol (played by Hwang Jung-min) in Veteran 2 and ex-convict murderer Go Jung-woo (played by Byun Yo-han) in Death to Snow White collide head-on with this solid wall. The former restarts the investigation from scratch to catch the real culprit. The latter, having already spent 10 years in prison, searches for an alibi to clear his name.

Each attempt does not proceed smoothly or is ignored. This is because the opposing side does not want the scope of the problem to expand. They deliberately avoid situations where new problems arise or group members whip each other up.

Such occurrences are frequent in politics as well. On one side, right-wing groups unite to curse foreigners, Muslims, and gender studies supporters, lamenting that their country is falling apart. On the other side, left-wing groups band together to slander racists, sexists, and populists, engaging in large-scale struggles.

Discussing matters together is difficult for both camps. They either shout loudly or completely shut their mouths. In doing so, they seal themselves within the shared thoughts of their group members.

Adam Smith believed that the operation of emotions leads humans to social order. In fact, justice is based on our sympathy for the anger of those who have suffered harmful acts. The concretization of justice into law is also due to the innate aversion to anger. Behind following such laws lies the fear of criticism from others and the impartial observer within one’s mind.

Anger, hatred, and fear are all human emotions. The police officers portrayed by Kwon Hae-hyo are enforcers of the law, which is a product of these emotions. They hold absolute superiority in power relations with others. The emotions they display drive those around them to fear greater than the law itself. Those facing this situation find themselves unable to object even to unjust orders. This creates an environment perfectly suited for authorities to make wrong decisions.

The ongoing seven-month medical service gap is a representative example. Emergency medical capacity has reached its limit, but the government’s diagnosis differs from the field’s reality. On the 29th of last month, President Yoon Suk-yeol confidently stated, "Although there are several problems, the emergency medical system is operating smoothly for now." However, when public backlash surged, on the 4th he visited the regional emergency medical center in Gyeonggi Province and said, "It is truly regrettable that the state has not properly cared for and supported you."

The background of policies detached from reality is "rage." It is an emotion frequently mentioned regarding the president’s emotional state this year. Reports said he was enraged when former leader Kim Ki-hyun refused to resign as Han Dong-hoon’s emergency committee took office in the People Power Party, enraged when conditional consideration of a special prosecutor for First Lady Kim Gun-hee after the general election was mentioned, and even enraged when the BLACKPINK concert was canceled during his visit to the U.S.

Smith called the free expression of anger "a manifestation of vanity." "Weak people full of vanity often display intense emotions in front of those inferior to them or those who dare not oppose them, imagining that doing so shows their spirit." Emotions such as anger, hatred, jealousy, malice, and revenge that flow out in this way tend to break bonds. When excessive, they can become objects of fear or hatred.

Veteran 2 and Death to Snow White demand self-control from such authorities. The former’s English title is I, The Executioner. While it means "executor," it can also mean "murderer." The latter’s title refers to the queen’s extreme malice in the fairy tale Snow White. The emotions he felt toward Snow White were jealousy, hatred, and rage.