Park must exercise leadership to boost dialogue, compromise
President Park Geun-hye will celebrate the first anniversary of her election victory Thursday. She beat Moon Jae-in, the candidate of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), by garnering 51.6 percent ― the first-ever majority in our presidential election history.
Back then, the first female head of state promised to create an era of happiness for the people and highlighted living standards and national integration as priorities. Moon also clearly conceded defeat.
But one year later, the nation is still haunted by the results of the last presidential election because of the state spy agency's alleged interference before the ballot. President Park and her ruling Saenuri Party wasted the crucial first year engaged in endless mudslinging against the liberal opposition because the election scandal involving the National Intelligence Service (NIS) eclipsed all other issues.
The rival parties also collided head-on over other allegations that former President Roh Moo-hyun disavowed the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea at the 2007 inter-Korean summit, for which the transcript disappeared, along with other issues.
The largest opposition party deserted the National Assembly and took to the streets, raising questions about the legitimacy of President Park. During this process, the governing party failed to exercise its political power and remained swayed by the presidential office. In a nutshell, it was a period in which key functions in politics have been lost.
A recent poll conducted by Gallup Korea showed that 54 percent of citizens assessed her administration so far as positive. This rating is a bit higher than that garnered by her predecessors after spending around the same time in power but it is quite disheartening, given the enormous support she had before her inauguration.
True, President Park has been criticized for being poor at communicating with the public as well as with the opposition camp, as evidenced by the fact that she didn't even hold an official press conference over the past year. Her stated commitment to national integration and reconciliation has almost fizzled out amid criticism of her self-righteous and go-it-alone personnel appointments. She also backtracked on her campaign pledges for economic democratization and welfare without providing clear reasons.
The main opposition party deserves to carry blame too for opposing the administration of President Park purely for the sake of it without paying heed to the needs of the people. Even more worrisome is that the pro-Roh faction in the DP is stepping up efforts to deny the results of the last presidential vote at a time when there has not been any evidence showing that President Park is implicated in the election scandal.
Recently, economic indicators show signs of upturn, but there is a long way to go before people will feel the glow of economic recovery in earnest. All recent issues ― North Korea's instability, China's rising hegemony and Japan's revival ― are certain to pose tough challenges to President Park.
What's needed most from her is to exercise leadership and guide the political community toward dialogue and compromise. To this end, she must actively communicate with the public and act resolutely to embrace the 48 percent who opposed her in the election.
President Park Geun-hye will celebrate the first anniversary of her election victory Thursday. She beat Moon Jae-in, the candidate of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), by garnering 51.6 percent ― the first-ever majority in our presidential election history.
Back then, the first female head of state promised to create an era of happiness for the people and highlighted living standards and national integration as priorities. Moon also clearly conceded defeat.
But one year later, the nation is still haunted by the results of the last presidential election because of the state spy agency's alleged interference before the ballot. President Park and her ruling Saenuri Party wasted the crucial first year engaged in endless mudslinging against the liberal opposition because the election scandal involving the National Intelligence Service (NIS) eclipsed all other issues.
The rival parties also collided head-on over other allegations that former President Roh Moo-hyun disavowed the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea at the 2007 inter-Korean summit, for which the transcript disappeared, along with other issues.
The largest opposition party deserted the National Assembly and took to the streets, raising questions about the legitimacy of President Park. During this process, the governing party failed to exercise its political power and remained swayed by the presidential office. In a nutshell, it was a period in which key functions in politics have been lost.
A recent poll conducted by Gallup Korea showed that 54 percent of citizens assessed her administration so far as positive. This rating is a bit higher than that garnered by her predecessors after spending around the same time in power but it is quite disheartening, given the enormous support she had before her inauguration.
True, President Park has been criticized for being poor at communicating with the public as well as with the opposition camp, as evidenced by the fact that she didn't even hold an official press conference over the past year. Her stated commitment to national integration and reconciliation has almost fizzled out amid criticism of her self-righteous and go-it-alone personnel appointments. She also backtracked on her campaign pledges for economic democratization and welfare without providing clear reasons.
The main opposition party deserves to carry blame too for opposing the administration of President Park purely for the sake of it without paying heed to the needs of the people. Even more worrisome is that the pro-Roh faction in the DP is stepping up efforts to deny the results of the last presidential vote at a time when there has not been any evidence showing that President Park is implicated in the election scandal.
Recently, economic indicators show signs of upturn, but there is a long way to go before people will feel the glow of economic recovery in earnest. All recent issues ― North Korea's instability, China's rising hegemony and Japan's revival ― are certain to pose tough challenges to President Park.
What's needed most from her is to exercise leadership and guide the political community toward dialogue and compromise. To this end, she must actively communicate with the public and act resolutely to embrace the 48 percent who opposed her in the election.
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