[Editorial Note] One Midnight Nightmare Is Enough

'Snatch-and-run candidacy,' 'final self-destruction,' 'late-night burglary'... These are some of the evaluations from both inside and outside the political sphere regarding the unprecedented turmoil over the presidential candidate replacement in the People Power Party last weekend. As the level of criticism shows, the scenes that unfolded in less than a day?from midnight on the 10th until 11:17 p.m. on the same day?came across to the public as the ultimate political farce.

Until the afternoon of May 9, the People Power Party's presidential candidate remained uncertain. The unification talks between candidate Kim Moonsoo and former Prime Minister Han Ducksoo continued, but discussions stalled. Later, the court dismissed all applications, including Kim's injunction to maintain his candidacy, creating a new situation. However, many still believed there was neither enough time nor justification to replace the candidate with former Prime Minister Han. This, however, proved to be a naive assumption.

The party leadership convened an emergency committee at midnight on the 10th, revoked Kim's presidential candidacy, and announced that candidate registration would be open at 3 a.m. By 4 a.m., only former Prime Minister Han had managed to submit all 32 required documents and register as a presidential candidate. In effect, the entire primary process was disregarded overnight, and the candidate was replaced in a hasty, underhanded manner. Such a scene is rare not only in advanced democracies but even in countries with less developed political systems.

It was the party members who reversed this irrational candidate replacement. From 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the 10th, a party-wide vote was held on whether to replace the presidential candidate with former Prime Minister Han, and the proposal was ultimately rejected. As a result, at 11:17 p.m., Kim's candidacy was restored. This occurred with less than 24 hours left before the registration deadline. Although the candidacy was eventually reverted, this shameful display of power-hungry party leadership has dragged conservative values to a new low.

Has the party buried this dark chapter of its history that unfolded over the weekend? Kim embraced Han in a show of unity, and the People Power Party once again emphasized solidarity. But who is responsible for undermining the political justification for unification in the name of pursuing victory in the presidential election? Their disgraceful actions have been laid bare for all to see, yet they alone pretend not to notice.

Before the wounds of the 12·3 Martial Law could even heal, the people have suffered yet another blow. Far from reflection or apology over martial law and impeachment, the party has abandoned even the basic principles of democratic politics, further diminishing public expectations for politics. It was the party members across the country?indeed, the people themselves?who revived the People Power Party, which was on the verge of collapse due to a forced candidate replacement. If the People Power Party tries to gloss over this incident, it will be difficult to escape the judgment of the people.

One midnight nightmare is enough; there should not be a second.