Candidates, voters should focus on policies, not politics
Local elections are less than a month away but the national atmosphere is too calm and staid to indicate this. That will likely change somewhat next week when political parties select their candidates for governors and mayors. The quadrennial polls have become additionally important, as an occasion to help cast away the gloom caused by the tragic sinking of the ferry Sewol, and give Koreans some vigor to start anew.
It is regrettable in this regard that the nation's two largest parties are embroiled in unseemly infighting over their nomination processes.
The political noises are loudest in the ruling Saenuri Party, and at its center is former Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik who is struggling to win the candidacy for Seoul mayor in a three-way primary. The problem is Kim has been openly announcing he has the support of President Park Geun-hye and her aides.
If true, President Park is violating the Election Law that calls for public officials, from the president on down, to maintain strict electoral neutrality. Former President Roh Moo-hyun came close to impeachment for just vowing to "do what he can legally" for election victory. If Kim's remark proves false, the former Supreme Court justice and top auditor will have to bow out of the race not just for legal but moral reasons.
What defies our understanding is Cheong Wa Dae's silence on this matter, triggering rampant guesses about what's been going on between the two. President Park should make clear her position on Kim's allegations if for no other reason than declaring her administration's intention to hold the elections in a fair manner. Voters will not trust the government's fair-play pledge if the nomination within the governing party is smeared by foul play.
The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) is not free from the nomination brouhaha, either, as its co-leader, Ahn Cheol-soo handpicked one of his confidantes to run for mayor of Gwangju, brushing aside two more competitive would-be candidates from a rival faction.
It's long past time for the nation's political parties to pick candidates at caucuses of registered party members, as are the cases of advanced democracies. Until when should they resort to opinion polls, whose credibility itself is in doubt?
The ongoing ferry disaster is likely to be the deciding factor in the forthcoming polls, which will elect 3,909 administrative heads and councilors in provinces, municipalities and smaller localities. Voters are likely to punish Park's governing party for the incompetence and irresponsibility shown in coping with the worst maritime disaster in two decades. If opposition parties over-politicize the issue, however, it will backfire, as shown by the simultaneous falls in the approval rating of the two major parties.
Voters will, and should, choose politicians and parties that propose better policies to prevent the recurrence of safety accidents ― complete with plausible spending plans to turn their words into actions.
The adage that crises can always turn into opportunities currently applies to both the governing and opposition camps depending on how they deal with the ongoing accident. They must start by ceasing political dogfights in and outside the parties and offering policies.
If next month's local polls end up as another dirty political drama, it will take a very long time for Koreans to recover their devastated self-esteem.
Local elections are less than a month away but the national atmosphere is too calm and staid to indicate this. That will likely change somewhat next week when political parties select their candidates for governors and mayors. The quadrennial polls have become additionally important, as an occasion to help cast away the gloom caused by the tragic sinking of the ferry Sewol, and give Koreans some vigor to start anew.
It is regrettable in this regard that the nation's two largest parties are embroiled in unseemly infighting over their nomination processes.
The political noises are loudest in the ruling Saenuri Party, and at its center is former Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik who is struggling to win the candidacy for Seoul mayor in a three-way primary. The problem is Kim has been openly announcing he has the support of President Park Geun-hye and her aides.
If true, President Park is violating the Election Law that calls for public officials, from the president on down, to maintain strict electoral neutrality. Former President Roh Moo-hyun came close to impeachment for just vowing to "do what he can legally" for election victory. If Kim's remark proves false, the former Supreme Court justice and top auditor will have to bow out of the race not just for legal but moral reasons.
What defies our understanding is Cheong Wa Dae's silence on this matter, triggering rampant guesses about what's been going on between the two. President Park should make clear her position on Kim's allegations if for no other reason than declaring her administration's intention to hold the elections in a fair manner. Voters will not trust the government's fair-play pledge if the nomination within the governing party is smeared by foul play.
The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) is not free from the nomination brouhaha, either, as its co-leader, Ahn Cheol-soo handpicked one of his confidantes to run for mayor of Gwangju, brushing aside two more competitive would-be candidates from a rival faction.
It's long past time for the nation's political parties to pick candidates at caucuses of registered party members, as are the cases of advanced democracies. Until when should they resort to opinion polls, whose credibility itself is in doubt?
The ongoing ferry disaster is likely to be the deciding factor in the forthcoming polls, which will elect 3,909 administrative heads and councilors in provinces, municipalities and smaller localities. Voters are likely to punish Park's governing party for the incompetence and irresponsibility shown in coping with the worst maritime disaster in two decades. If opposition parties over-politicize the issue, however, it will backfire, as shown by the simultaneous falls in the approval rating of the two major parties.
Voters will, and should, choose politicians and parties that propose better policies to prevent the recurrence of safety accidents ― complete with plausible spending plans to turn their words into actions.
The adage that crises can always turn into opportunities currently applies to both the governing and opposition camps depending on how they deal with the ongoing accident. They must start by ceasing political dogfights in and outside the parties and offering policies.
If next month's local polls end up as another dirty political drama, it will take a very long time for Koreans to recover their devastated self-esteem.
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