Politicians should focus on the needs of voters instead of bickering incessantly

By Kim Ji-soo

There was a time when firebrand human rights lawyer Roh Moo-hyun was president (2003-2008) the iconic “386 generation” seemed to be “everything everywhere all at once,” to borrow a phrase from the recent Oscar-winning film.

The term 386 generation refers to those born in the 1960s and who went to college in the 1980s ― when the struggle for democracy was at its height ― and who were in their 30s when the phrase was coined and the generation mainly backed the progressive Roh Moo-hyun administration.

Nowadays, the term 386 generation is long gone, as most are now pushing 60s and above. It is the MZ generation (those born in the early 1980s and 2000s) that are “everything everywhere all at once.” Generations naturally pass on the baton, but because the pace of change is so swift in Korea, artificial intelligence may well be our next generation. And in that process, the discontent of generations feeling underappreciated will be the crux and heart of both problems and solutions for Korean politics.

In the swanky neighborhoods near Han Riverside parks especially in southern Seoul, young revelers enviously look up at the dilapidated apartments sighing that they won't be able to afford those units, which will likely be rebuilt into housing complexes worth billions of won. While the relative poverty rate of the elderly in Korea is one of the lowest at 37.6 percent as of 2021, OECD member nations, there is a feeling that the older population has had a head start in buying houses and building a portfolio of wealth.

One would think in this context that political leaders would be savvier in how they connect with voters. A recent controversy demonstrated that there is still a long way to go before the politicians in Korea realize that the devil is in the details.

Kim Eun-kyung, who heads the Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) Innovation Committee, stirred controversy and anger for comments she made in a meeting with young voters on July 30. Recalling a conversation with her son. “… my son said we should hand out voting rights differently depending on life expectancy, and I found this quite reasonable,” she said, adding that she told him that it's impossible as one person has one vote in a democracy.

Facing a public outcry, Kim, a professor of law and the former deputy governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, publicly apologized after holding out for several days. It didn't help that impressions of her predecessor, Lee Rae-kyung, quitting just nine hours after being appointed due to his controversial online remarks about the Cheonan sinking, lingered in people's minds. Neither did the DPK's slip-of-tongue concerning elderly voters, including the 2004 comment by then-presidential candidate Chung Dong-young of the DPK's predecessor, the Uri Party, saying, “Those aged over 60 don't need to vote, and they should rest at home.” Other political parties are not exceptions to making political gaffes, but that's for another column.

When Kim visited the Korea Senior Citizens Association to apologize, its chairman, Kim Ho-il slapped a photo of her numerous times, saying that he was expressing the anger felt by 10 million elderly Koreans. How many of the 10 million would agree to his way of expressing their anger? Then they recall that Kim in 2000, threw a flying knee-kick to the conservative party's secretary-general at the time, as a protest for not getting the party nomination.

Bringing about innovation is a hard task. People are comfortable with the familiar even as they realize the need for change. Kim was recruited by DPK leader Lee Jae-myung for her fresh insights and non-political career. On Monday, Lee expressed regret over the comment. The Innovation Committee shone briefly when it proposed in June that DPK members give up their immunity from arrest. The DPK has embraced it only in principle.

With the 2024 general elections slated for April, the ruling PPP, the minor Justice Party and the DPK are all jockeying for an advantageous position. Instead of political wrangling, they should spend more time assessing how Korean voters feel about the ever-widening inequality in the country. There are ample signs that different age groups or generations in Korea have various pain points that need to be remedied. It is more important for politicians to assess those needs instead bickering with their foes.

The writer is a member of The Korea Times editorial board.