[Viewpoint] People Power Party Without Self-Reflection

It was mid-July last year. At that time, a senior government official I met said, "These days, when I go to the National Assembly, the level gap between the ruling party and the opposition is too large." He said, "I feel that opposition lawmakers are studying hard every time they are questioned." On the other hand, he said, "Ruling party lawmakers do not ask many questions related to laws, probably because they have not studied properly and therefore cannot ask questions." His words were full of concern. In a National Assembly where the ruling party is in the minority, the government's policy momentum is not strong, and it seemed like the ruling party lawmakers neither have the ability nor the will to provide supportive fire for the government. It seemed he wanted to emphasize that the ruling party should not conduct legislative activities in this manner.

Since the launch of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, the conflict with the major opposition party has deepened over time. The opposition unilaterally passed reckless bills in the plenary session and proposed 29 impeachment motions against cabinet members and prosecutors. The president exercised veto power in response. President Yoon exercised veto power 25 times. Both the number of impeachment motions and vetoes were the highest ever. It was a standoff. The common sense that politics is about finding compromises between different positions did not apply. The bills made by the opposition controlling the National Assembly were full of their claims, and the president expressed anger about this. Compromise and concession disappeared.

This conflict finally exploded on December 3 last year with the emergency martial law incident. The core justification for the emergency martial law was the expulsion of pro-North Korean forces and investigation of election fraud. President Yoon Seok-yeol, accused of being the 'leader of a rebellion,' was arrested at 10:33 a.m. on the 15th of this month at the presidential residence and detained at Seoul Detention Center. The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office must request an arrest warrant within 48 hours of the arrest, and a decision on detention is made a few days later. This is the first time a sitting president has been detained at Seoul Detention Center. President Yoon stood trial for impeachment following former President Park Geun-hye.

Even if the emergency martial law incident was carried out by President Yoon and some close military aides, the ruling party's responsibility cannot be ignored. Was it not the case that matters that could have been resolved through negotiation with the opposition in the National Assembly were unconditionally left to the president? Did the ruling party, despite having fewer seats, have no negotiation cards to present to the opposition? Were the lawmakers neglecting their fundamental duties, being absorbed only in factional conflicts between pro-Yoon and pro-Han groups? Were they obsessed only with ousting the party leader opposing the president? Looking at this series of events, it is clear that the ruling party has fallen into serious stagnation. It is hard to deny that they are mocked as the 'Well-being Party.'

Now, we face the question, "What path will the Korean conservative party take after President Yoon?" I want to ask whether the current ruling party can answer this question responsibly. If not, the conservative party must undergo a constructive dissolution in some form. They must go beyond merely changing the party name for show and absorb external figures who genuinely contemplate conservative values. They must engage in debates like a melting pot.

However, those who hold slightly different views from mine should not be excluded. While united under the broad framework of conservatism, there can be many differing opinions on specifics. Even with strong hostility toward pro-North Korean forces, victory must be achieved through elections, not emergency martial law. To confidently use the term liberal democracy, legitimacy must be secured by winning elections. Let us remember that this may be the last chance for the Korean conservative party.