Opposition leader disparages summit - in wrong election tactic
Hong Joon-pyo talks at an LKP campaign rally for the June 13 local elections in Busan, Tuesday. / Yonhap
By Lee Suh-yoon
While the whole world is welcoming last week's inter-Korean summit, some conservative politicians here who rely on unstable security for voter support are trying their best to downplay the peace overtures.
Political analysts say such a stance mostly comes from concerns of a crushing defeat forecast for the upcoming local elections in June, amid growing support for the liberal ruling bloc following the summit.
“I do not believe in Kim Jong-un's peace show,” main conservative Liberal Korea Party (LKP) Chairman Hong Joon-pyo said in an interview with Japanese broadcaster TV Asahi last Thursday, a day before the summit. “Only the leftists in our country support this summit.”
Hong also called the summit a “fake peace show” on Facebook on the summit day.
Political analysts say Hong's behavior and remarks reflect his uneasiness over the upcoming local elections.
“The sudden turnaround in North-South relations makes it harder for conservatives to frame North Korea as a fearsome enemy,“ political commentator Choi Young-il said. “This creates a difficult situation for conservative politicians who have long relied on anti-communist sentiment to win votes.”
President Moon Jae-in regained a 70 percent approval rating – for the first time in four months – in a recent poll released after the summit.
Choi predicts the LKP's complete rejection of the summit, which only appeals to its far-right supporters, will not guarantee success in the upcoming elections.
“The LKP is trying to differentiate itself from the Moon administration as much as possible to hold on to its far-right voters rather than expanding its voter base, a very passive election strategy,” Choi said. “If they lose in the local elections, this could be Hong's last stand.”
Liberal politicians lashed out at the LKP's attempts to downplay the summit.
“Pyongyang and Seoul's time zones are finally synchronized and flowing together as one,” Rep. Hong Ik-pyo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said at the National Assembly, Tuesday. “But the LKP's time seems to be going backward on its own.”
Hong also rejected the LKP chairman's claim that the Panmunjeom Declaration is a covert agreement between Kim and North Korea sympathizers in the Moon administration. The chairman criticized the declaration for including phrases like “the two Koreas decide their fate on their own,” which he claims is Pyongyang's stance to exclude the U.S. from the peninsula.
“How can he criticize the inclusion of the phrase in the declaration when the same concept was also included in previous agreements with the North under former conservative presidents Park Chung-hee and Roh Tae-woo?” Rep. Hong said. “Does he think Park and Roh are also North Korea sympathizers?”
Hong Joon-pyo's comments have come under criticism by members of his own party, especially those who think the chairman's stance will not help them win the elections.
Kim Tae-ho, an LKP member running for South Gyeongsang Province governor, said he believed Hong “went too far” in his criticisms.
“The peace issue is something beyond an ideological conflict. Hong should be open for nonpartisan cooperation on the issue,” he said in a radio interview.
Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok, an LKP member who is seeking a second term, also said, “LKP leaders make irrational and irresponsible remarks, casting a chill over public expectation.”