Sangdon Lee: "People Power Party Has No Plan B... Limits to Change" [So Jongseop's Sokterview]

"Conservative Forces Dug Their Own Grave"
"(Democratic Party's Impeachment Motions) There Has Never Been Such a Self-Defeating Move"
"Unity? The People Do Not Believe It. Confrontation Likely to Continue for Now"

President Yoon Seok-yeol was unanimously removed from office by the Constitutional Court with an 8 to 0 decision. In Korean political history, he became the second president to be impeached following former President Park Geun-hye. It is an unfortunate history. On the afternoon of the 4th at 3 PM, former lawmaker Lee Sang-don appeared on the Asia Economy YouTube channel 'AK Radio' and predicted that the People Power Party has no Plan B and will face limitations in adapting to change. The full interview can be viewed in the video below.

President Yoon was removed with an 8:0 vote.

Expressed in English, it is simple and clear. It was straightforward and definite. Due to the influence of legal technicians appearing in the media and broadcasts, many had vain hopes that impeachment would not succeed. Impeachment trials are not criminal trials. It seems there was a fundamental lack of understanding about the impeachment process. Impeachment should basically be seen as a legal procedure with a political nature. That is why in the United States, the Senate conducts the trial.

I am someone who thought that former President Yoon Seok-yeol was unqualified not only to be president but even to be Prosecutor General. He abused prosecutorial power, and all those people who were arrested on charges of abuse of authority were acquitted in higher courts, weren't they? Is it normal for a political party to forcibly recruit such a person as a presidential candidate? That was wrong from the start. He acted exactly as expected. The conservative forces dug their own grave.

In our political history, within less than 20 years, two presidents have been impeached. How do you interpret this?

The two cases are somewhat different. Former President Park Geun-hye seemed to have collapsed on her own. Didn't she apologize within a day? That actually triggered protests. The People Power Party seems to have developed an internal perception that easily admitting fault is a self-defeating move after experiencing that. Perhaps the reversed response this time was influenced by that.

It was initially quite shocking that Representative Yoon Sang-hyun came out and said the impeachment was unfair, followed by Representative Kim Min-jeon, and then Representative Na Kyung-won. Those three were not usually hardliners. Representative Yoon argued that reform was necessary for conservative reconstruction after the general election defeat, and Representative Kim, as a political scientist, had always said polarized politics is unacceptable. Representative Na was somewhat a victim under President Yoon's administration. I still don't understand why people who were not usually hardline defended President Yoon. I think that significantly influenced the People Power Party. They took the opposite path compared to the time of President Park Geun-hye. In the end, it turned out worse.

Former National Assembly member Sangdon Lee is being interviewed by Asia Economy AK Radio on the 4th.

How do you evaluate the People Power Party, dominated by hardline conservatives during the impeachment phase?

Unless they are under collective hypnosis, or self-hypnosis, so to speak, how can they be so absorbed in people who think similarly to themselves and fail to see the situation objectively? Until just the day before yesterday, there were even talks that the impeachment would be dismissed by a 5 to 3 vote, which was incomprehensible. After this, where will individual lawmakers or the party go?

The People Power Party is facing this problem immediately.

The problem is that the term of the 22nd National Assembly members still has a lot of time left. In this situation, can the People Power Party really change? If it cannot change, it will just be stuck in the hardline flow of the impeachment crisis. It cannot escape. If that happens, it will be a problem for the People Power Party, but if the administration shifts to the Democratic Party, will there be any checks and balances? Will they be able to gain the support of the people? These aspects are very worrisome.

Do you think the People Power Party will face limitations in changing?

Yes. In other words, they have no Plan B at all.

Two presidents have been impeached, and in the past, conservatives were said to be capable, but nowadays that does not seem to be the case. Why do you think this happened?

In the past, there were many people with some qualifications who could resonate with the public. But those who followed were not great. To the extent that they brought in someone who had never been elected to be party leader and run an election. How much noise was there in candidate nominations? People who have run elections know how fearful public opinion is.

The former lawmaker predicted that the People Power Party would have limitations in making changes.

What do you think about the Democratic Party passing impeachment motions one after another?

Impeachment has been greatly abused. The very name 'impeachment' is terrifying, isn't it? It is very wrong that the Democratic Party has almost abused it. I don't understand why the Democratic Party was so impatient. There is no self-defeating move like this. Looking at the Democratic Party's behavior, they seem too impatient. Was it really necessary to go that far?

Also, the words coming from party leaders like Floor Leader Park Chan-dae are too harsh. I worry that the Democratic Party is too intoxicated. Impeachment should have a strict quorum. A motion to dismiss a cabinet member requires a majority, and impeachment also requires a majority. There is a problem. It should be changed. But I am skeptical whether a constitutional amendment that reduces the National Assembly's authority in that way is practically possible.

Why has our politics become so dominated by extreme conflict?

What did Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in say equally in the 2012 presidential election? National unity, and that they would only look to the people. After the election, they did not keep that promise. President Moon Jae-in was the same. He pursued the clearing of deep-rooted evils and persistently dealt with all issues judicially. Of course, some areas needed to be handled that way. But some should have ended with political responsibility. Wasn't it excessive?

Who was the one who did it excessively? Wasn't it then Central District Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol? When that ended, they demanded the investigation rights back, so from the prosecution's perspective, it was a betrayal. Everything went wrong there. That is really outrageous, yet the People Power Party brought such a person as their presidential candidate. I cannot even express how wrong our country is. The fact that flexible and compromising figures from both parties have been eliminated also had an impact.

The former lawmaker predicted that the conflict between the ruling and opposition parties will continue for the time being.

The aftereffects of impeachment are also worrisome.

Yes. And now they say they accept the impeachment result, but beyond whether they truly accept it emotionally, there is also the issue of whether they will recognize the newly launched administration. They talk about unity, but the people no longer trust it. I worry there is no way to resolve this. The confrontation structure will inevitably continue for a while.

The ruling party needs to take a broader view. They must not insist on their narrow philosophy and policies but adopt inclusive policies. If the Democratic Party comes to power, they should learn from the past cases of the Roh Moo-hyun and Lee Myung-bak administrations that arrogantly running the government relying on a majority in the assembly does not lead to good election results.