[Inside Chodong]The Presidential Election Is Not the End but the Beginning

We Must Protect the Opportunity Earned by Citizens' Courage
Chaos Triggered by Isolation and Self-Righteousness
Preserving the Opportunity Secured by the Courage of Citizens

After enduring a harsh winter and spring, the nation is now heading into a presidential election. When what seemed like a solid foundation collapsed, it felt as if we were endlessly sinking into a quagmire. The pillars we believed supported this world began to shake, and the order we thought was clear became a subject of controversy. Our society went through a period of extreme confusion, fear, and despair. During these times, I often thought of a certain person. It was "someone" lying on the cold ground. I do not know their face or name, but this person appears in the indictment filed by the prosecution against former President Yoon Suk-yeol.

The prosecution's indictment states the following:

"Citizens present at the scene blocked the mid-sized bus carrying the 00 Special Mission Battalion advance unit, or crawled under the bus, preventing it from entering the National Assembly."

The reason why a unit armed with numerous firearms and ammunition could not enter the National Assembly was because of the resistance of citizens who blocked the armed troops. While we have often seen people blocking vehicle entrances, the courage to crawl under a bus was beyond imagination. Where does such courage come from, to lie next to a bus wheel and dare the authorities to go ahead if they can?

The reason I am bringing up something I have been thinking about for nearly half a year is to emphasize that the recovery process our democracy is now undergoing amid chaos is by no means something to be taken for granted. All of us are indebted to the courage of the citizens who stood in the streets that day and blocked the military and police.

Previously, we toppled the power at the top through the "Candlelight Revolution" and elected a new government. The expectation that we could create a new model of politics in the spirit of the impeachment alliance quickly collapsed. The limits of self-righteousness?believing only oneself to be right?ultimately led to the loss of power. Now, after experiencing even greater twists and turns than we did eight years ago, we must ask ourselves what kind of democracy we should build. It must begin with reflection on the past eight years.

Modern democracy ultimately concentrates strong powers in the legislature, executive, or judiciary. However, we cannot always expect these powers to make the right and good decisions. This is why mechanisms must exist to raise objections, identify errors, and correct them. The opposition parties as alternative political forces, non-mainstream voices challenging the mainstream, and critical media serve this role. The world-renowned scholar Yuval Harari called this a "self-correcting mechanism." He argued that because humans are always prone to error, government is necessary, but because government itself can err, institutional mechanisms to correct these errors are also necessary. In our experience, restoring the autonomy of political parties and the legislature is the starting point. Establishing a horizontal relationship between the party and the government is the minimum safeguard against disasters such as martial law.

Politics through dialogue must also be restored. Dialogue must be possible not only between parties but also within parties. The moment political powers refuse to talk to each other and give up on understanding one another, only confrontation remains. Resolving conflicts through dialogue rather than force is the conclusion that modern civilization reached after an age of barbarism. Channels for dialogue between the president, the National Assembly, and political parties must be restored.

The conclusion of the past six months of chaos is not simply this presidential election. The election must be an opportunity to rebuild and firmly establish our democracy, which has been hollowed out. Through this precious opportunity, protected by the courage of many, we must rebuild our democracy properly. The presidential election is both an end and a beginning.