[K-Women Talk] The Language of a Leader

A Martial Law Declaration Filled with Hate Words Like "Monster" and "Atrocity"
Inciting Fear and Anger Among the People
Leaders Must Use the Language of Unity, Common Sense, and Inclusion

There is only about a week left in 2024. However, this year, we have not been able to quietly wrap up the year and enjoy the leisure of designing hopes and plans for the new year. The declaration of martial law announced by the nation's highest leader, the president, on the night of December 3 shocked and terrified all citizens. It was something that could not have happened in our country, where the per capita national income has surpassed $36,000 and is aiming for $40,000.

The martial law clause of Article 77 of the Constitution, which was thought impossible to operate in daily life, suddenly came into effect, and nearly six hours of great chaos followed. Members of the National Assembly gathered in the plenary hall, even climbing over the walls of the National Assembly, to immediately vote for the lifting of martial law. Although it took about ten days afterward, the impeachment of the president was passed according to constitutional provisions, proving that the Republic of Korea is a country governed by a system. In the process, the orderly protest culture shown by our citizens, who sang K-pop songs like "Dasi Mannan Segye" and waved light sticks, greatly contributed to restoring the national dignity of our country, which was on the verge of collapse.

This martial law incident revealed aspects of our current national system that need to be reconsidered. Since the introduction of the five-year single-term presidential system in 1987, presidential impeachment has already occurred three times, and the problems caused by the imperial presidency and the polarized political structure are serious. Leaving aside discussions on these structural issues, what we reflect on in the current situation is the attitude and language of the leader.

Looking at the full text of the martial law declaration read by the president on December 3, it is filled with words of hatred such as "outrage," "financial manipulation," "plotting rebellion," "monster," "plunder," "atrocity," and "scourge of all nations." These words were used with the intention of spreading his anger to all citizens and driving the situation according to his beliefs. However, the language of the nation's highest leader, which was factually inaccurate, exaggerated, and one-sided, only caused fear and anger among the people. It would not be an exaggeration to say that those hateful and delusional words caused psychological trauma to the entire nation.

Francis Fukuyama cited trust as the most important social capital. He compared societies with high and low trust among members. It goes without saying that the leader's words and actions have a great influence on creating a society with high trust. The most important aspect of a leader's language should be the "language of unity" that integrates members with different thoughts and values.

It should also be a "language of common sense" that aligns with universal values. Furthermore, it should be a "language of inclusion" that embraces and supports the socially vulnerable. Coercive language that forces one's stubbornness and ego, exclusionary language that divides people with different opinions, and manipulative language that changes according to personal interests can destroy trust among social members and harm the social system.

Despite the absurd and unrealistic martial law incident that struck like a midnight thunderbolt, a leader who gave the people a sense of trust and stability through calm attitude and language emerged during the swift lifting of martial law and impeachment procedures according to the Constitution. I examined the language used by the Speaker of the National Assembly, who played an important role in resolving this incident, in his speech after the resolution to lift martial law and the passage of the impeachment motion. Words such as "the weight of history," "the weight of democracy," "the lives of the people," "hope," and "future" were used. Although there were no flashy modifiers, his language was the most universal and common-sense language, which seemed to give a greater resonance.

Kim Kyung-sun, Former Vice Minister of Gender Equality and Family