Liberals spoiling Park's honeymoon

By Kang Hyun-kyung

The main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) criticized President-elect Park Geun-hye for selecting scholars with no government experience as members of the presidential transition team.

This signals that Park’s honeymoon might be cut short as the liberals sharpen their rhetoric against the President-elect even before she takes office.

During a briefing Friday, DUP spokesman Rep. Yun Kwan-suk said that those appointed to the transition team were either from Park’s campaign staff or campus idealists with no policymaking experience.

The lawmaker said Park’s selection of ultra-conservative Yoon Chang-jung as chief spokesman of the transition team was a serious mistake, urging Park to dismiss the former journalist.

The reaction followed Yoon’s comment that the DUP opposed the President-elect just for the sake of opposing her.

Yoon drew the ire of DUP members for his controversial labeling of some supporters of Rep. Moon Jae-in as political prostitutes and blind backers in his online columns.

Earlier, the DUP claimed that the President-elect made nearly half of the country’s citizens enemies by appointing such a controversial figure as a spokesman. Forty-eight percent of voters opted for Moon in the election.

Generally a newly elected president gets a six month honeymoon period with less criticism, to design and push through his or her policies.

Opposition parties or critics tend to remain calm, without revealing their discontent, to wait and see how the new president’s agenda turns out, even if they disagree with it. They resume attacks against the new leader afterward.

These days, such a grace period is disappearing or being cut short. Incumbent President Lee Myung-bak faced a challenge from the early months of his presidency as hundreds of protestors took to the street to urge the government to stop importing American beef. His ratings nosedived as a direct result.

Choi Jin, president of the Seoul-based think tank the Institute of Presidential Leadership said a certain honeymoon period is necessary, and maintaining the practice will also work for opposition parties.

He urged opposition politicians to wait at least until the President-elect names Cabinet ministers, calling the move to wage war against Park “a disservice” to them.

“I think it is not in the interest of the DUP or other opposition parties if their attacks are viewed as opposition for the sake of opposing the President-elect,” Choi said. “If the reshuffles are in the wrong direction, this would anger the public. Opposition parties should wait and see how the public reacts to the reshuffles and then act based on this. Otherwise, their attacks could backfire.”

Choi said the opposition’s old survival tactics, along with a divided nation after the election, are the root causes of what he called the “premature attack” against Park.

“Opposition politicians tend to think that they would be better off if they sharpen their rhetoric to attack the ruling party. This strategy has long been viewed as a survival tactic of opposition politicians,” he said.

The presidential leadership expert said now is the time for the opposition to rethink the tactic because it will simply do a disservice to them.