ed Kim's inflated ego
Kim Chong-in came to the Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) to rebuild the main opposition and restore people’s trust that the party has lost due to factional feuding, disastrous election failures and incompetent policy-making.
In the short period that he has led the party, Kim has shown too much unilateralism and desire for power. Regardless of the results of the April 13 general election, the MPK’s interim leader has already done more damage than good. His next step should not be to retain the party leadership but resign and bow out from politics altogether.
This is the only way to lift the party out of the huge disgrace he has inflicted after his attempt to guarantee himself a seat in the 20th National Assembly through proportional representation. Given the level of public wrath toward Kim’s arrogant and greedy disposition, people will not support a Kim-led MPK in the post-election period and beyond.
When he joined the MPK, Kim stressed that he had absolutely no interest in a proportional representation seat. But in nominating himself as No. 2 on the roster of candidates for the non-electoral seats, Kim claimed it was imperative for him to become a part of the National Assembly to continue the reforms he started. It is hard to see any kind of sincerity in such rationale, given the inflated view of himself and excessive political ambition that can be detected from the former four-term lawmaker’s remarks.
His references to the late former President Kim Dae-jung or Senator Bernie Sanders, a Democratic presidential candidate, are particularly inappropriate. Using former President Kim’s experience with proportional representation to justify his own obsession with returning to the National Assembly is out of context. Kim is gravely mistaken if he believes he can be compared to the late president politically.
The MPK’s caretaker chief even mocked the former President by saying that he was above “Kim’s brand of politics.” The slanderous remarks against the late president, a longtime opposition leader, are also problematic because it clearly shows Kim’s egregious lack of respect and understanding of the main opposition’s history.
His repeated reference to Sanders is even more preposterous. He talked about Sanders many times during a recent lecture and even hosted a forum earlier this month about the rise of Sanders in American politics. Kim is 75 and Sanders is 74. Their proximity in age is just about the only similarity between the two politicians. Unlike Kim, Sanders is a politician who promotes social equality and economic justice, and conveys his message in a passionate manner that resonates with the American middle class.
At a meeting on Tuesday, former MPK chairman Moo Jae-in asked Kim to lead the party beyond the parliamentary elections. Moon’s request is far from public opinion. People’s tolerance has run out for self-serving politicians like Kim.