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| Main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) floor leader Rep. Na Kyung-won, front row fourth from left, and other party members protest against fast-tracking political reform bills from the floor in front of the door to the special committee on political reform meeting early Tuesday. The special committee on judiciary reform put the judiciary reform bills on the fast track late Monday night. Yonhap |
By Jung Da-min
More than one million people have signed an online petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website calling for the disbandment of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP).
The petition, which began on April 22, accused the LKP of blocking the procedures of fast tracking reform bills regarding electoral reform and establishing a new investigative body against corruption. Four parties, including the main ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), the Bareunmirae Party (BMP), the Party for Democracy and Peace (PDP) and the Justice Party (JP), have supported the bills.
The bills were put on the fast track to a National Assembly vote after being approved through two special parliamentary committees late Monday night and early Tuesday, but the conflict among the lawmakers, which peaked after a week of physical tussles at the Assembly, is unlikely to end soon.
Along with the petition slamming the LKP, the April 16 joint civic committee for the bereaved family members of the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster also said Tuesday that they will stage a candlelight rally condemning the LKP and calling for its disbandment in the Gwanghwamun area in central Seoul on Saturday. The civic groups of the bereaved family members and the LKP were in conflict over the investigation into the disaster.
Experts say that the number of people who have signed the petition should serve as a wake-up call for the LKP.
But they cautiously said it is likely that the number does not reflect the general public's view but the view of the enthusiastic supporters of the DPK and the administration of President Moon Jae-in.
"I don't see the petition as the general public's expression of disappointment in the LKP," said Shin Yul, professor at Myongji University's Department of Political Science and Diplomacy.
"It is rather an aggressive expression of support for President Moon Jae-in."
Expressing the same view, other pundits said the supporters of the progressive party have shown a high level of unity since the candlelit rallies against the former President Park Geun-hye in 2016, which led to her impeachment the following year.
"But this is a worrying situation, as it would be a very dangerous society if people could just say 'let's get rid of the party as it does not share the same views as us,'" said Lee Jin-gon, former professor at Kyunghee University's department of Political Science and International Relations.
"The evaluation of political parties should be done through elections, not a Cheong Wa Dae petition which can easily distort public opinion with its characteristics of anonymity and social media activity online."
Experts also said the DPK and the other three parties supporting the bills are also to blame for the current conflicts at the National Assembly as they pushed forward with the removal of the BMP's Rep. Oh Shin-hwan from a committee handling the fast-tracking move after Oh objected the bills.
"The removal of Oh was not the right way of doing politics," said Mok Jin-hyu, professor emeritus at the Kookmin University's department of Public Administration.
"It was legally right but not acceptable, as it was against the principle of democracy to protect the minority."
