ed Politics got lost

It’s time to carry out genuine political reform

Politics has lost its way. With partisan confrontation over the government reorganization bill dragging on for more than a month, criticism is mounting about the lack of statesmanship in the local political arena.

Obviously, state affairs have become bogged down by the government retooling mess. Prime Minister Chung Hong-won is the only Cabinet member to take office after getting approval at the National Assembly with all other ministerial posts still vacant. For now, it’s impossible to predict when the first Cabinet meeting of the new administration will be held.

Civil servants affiliated with ministries whose organization has yet to be fixed are still trying to figure out what to do in the confusion, raising the specter that the administrative vacuum will last longer.

Even in this situation, the rival parties continued their tit-for-tat, blaming each other. On Sunday, negotiators from the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party met to iron out a compromise before their leaders hold a meeting with President Park Geun-hye. But the meeting was canceled as the negotiators failed to narrow their differences.

With the ongoing extraordinary session of the Assembly due to expire on Tuesday, the partisan collision may cause the legislature not to approve the government restructuring plan for a long time, to the great disappointment of the public, which had responded enthusiastically to parties’ promises to carry out political reform ahead of the December presidential election.

Indeed, it’s questionable whether the rival parties have the least sense of responsibility for their election commitment to "new politics," judging from their wayward and uncompromising behavior revealed in the process of discussing the retooling blueprint at the Assembly.

It’s appalling even to imagine that the parties ― of course, Cheong Wa Dae usually stands behind the governing party ― will continue their unyielding mudslinging during Park’s five-year term.

The foremost virtue required of politicians is an ability to reach a compromise, and in this regard, President Park, the nation’s first female president, is not free from criticism. On Sunday, for the second time in three days, her spokeswoman Kim Haing urged the Assembly to pass the reorganization bills by Tuesday apparently at Park’s request. This must be open pressure on the opposition by merely resorting to public sentiment ― she should have tried her best to persuade the lawmakers.

To be sure, people are fed up with the vicious circle of partisan confrontation, bill railroading and political tension, which have been trademarks of Korean politics for decades. Lawmakers even passed a law intended to advance the operation of the Assembly, but political reform is easier said than done.

Now it’s time for Park and the parties to get back to basics and carry out genuine political reform.