Victory of Conservatism
Losers Should Humbly Accept Election Result
Lee Myung-bak's winning of the presidential election is the victory of conservatism, ending the 10-year liberal rule. His victory by a big margin against opposing candidates is very meaningful, as he has secured a base for stable management of the state administration boosted by the people's strong support. His win is also significant in that it comes despite persistent negative campaigns by other contenders. Lee faced serious setbacks amid allegations of his involvement in the so-called BBK financial scandal.
The president-elect of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) needs to bear in mind that his win is thanks to the people's generous embrace of him despite questions about his ethical soundness. So he must be humble and refrain from being arrogant while admonishing his followers to keep a proper code of conduct. This is the way to prevent a possible backlash from opposing forces and emerge as a leading force in the real sense of the word.
As we have already pointed out, there has been growing concern over possible disorder in the political arena after the presidential poll. This is because the pro-government United New Democratic Party (UNDP) and other splinter parties are poised to gear up their offensives against Lee with the envisioned independent investigation into the allegation of Lee's entanglement in the financial scam. As a matter of fact, UNDP's candidate Chung Dong-young has been threatening to refuse the election outcome in the event of Lee's victory. It is tantamount to ignoring the people's choice. Chung is advised to repeal his position in this regard and accept the result.
Other parties are expected to wage all-out wars in their bid to brace for the National Assembly elections in April. Independent candidate Lee Hoi-chang has declared a plan to found a new party representing conservative circles, having refused to regard Lee Myung-bak as a true conservative. Toward that end, he is likely to woo support from Park Geun-hye. But the former GNP leader has remained silent, only repeating her support for the GNP's candidate. Moon Kook-hyun of the Creative Korea Party will also join the political maneuvering.
We believe the losers should give time for the president-elect so that he can prepare for the next government. Lee Myung-bak needs to be given a grace period with the other candidates refraining from further political attacks at least for the time being.
The people chose Lee as the head of state with high expectations for his capability to vitalize the economy. But regrettably, the economic climate surrounding the nation has not been so favorable, given factors such as the growing anxiety over possible stagflation around the world. Some news outlets have said Korea is highly vulnerable to a possible financial crisis among Asian countries. Furthermore, the subprime mortgage crisis of the United States is likely to continue to hit the nation.
Notwithstanding the negative campaigns and disappearance of policy contest, the presidential race cost less than previous elections. Additionally, the contest saw little of the chronic regionalism, which haunted past elections. These are highly positive developments for national politics. The political sector is asked to spare no effort to upgrade politics to meet the people's expectations by rectifying negative factors while improving positive ones through the coming parliamentary elections.