Opposition party chief should come up with political measures

Hwang Kyo-ahn, center, chairman of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, fields questions from reporters during a press conference at the National Assembly, Monday. Yonhap

By Park Ji-won

The Liberty Korea Party (LKP) under the leadership of Hwang Kyo-ahn is suffering from a declining support rate, according to a survey from local pollster Realmeter. The recent survey showed that the main opposition party's approval rating has fallen to 27.1 percent, down 3.2 percentage points from last week. The current figure is similar to the approval rate the LKP had before Hwang joined the party in February.

According to Realmeter, the leading Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has seen an increase in support due to its firm stance on Japan over the country's trade restrictions on South Korea. Conversely, the LKP has been pushing for a quick negotiation with Japan from the start.

Some LKP members expressed concern over the falling approval rating, suggesting it would be better to step up criticism of Japan as opposed to focusing on criticism of the government.

However, Hwang appears disinterested in changing his stance on the matter. In a sudden press briefing on July 15, Hwang introduced the LKP's planned measures to tackle the worsening Seoul-Tokyo relations evoked by Japan's restrictions on exports to South Korea.

During the conference, Hwang urged Japan to withdraw its trade regulations while criticizing the government for allowing the situation to occur. He called on the government to replace key politicians dealing with foreign affairs, including Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, while suggesting government envoys be sent to Japan. Hwang also proposed a meeting of party leaders at Cheong Wa Dae to openly discuss the situation and attempt to find solutions.

These official statements were noticeable because prior to the press briefing Hwang was insisting on a one-on-one meeting with Moon to tackle the trade dispute.

After the bipartisan meeting on July 18, party leaders including Hwang and Moon were able to reach a joint agreement calling for Japan to cancel its export restrictions targeting Korean firms, additionally proposing the formation of a pan-national emergency cooperation body to resolve the trade conflict with Japan.

The LKP formed a special party committee Monday consisting of its members and former envoys to Japan to tackle the issue. Hwang said the committee's aim is to cope with Japan's trade regulations, offering no further explanation.

However, other than criticizing the government and creating a few short-term solutions, the LKP failed to come up with detailed policy measures to deal with the current dispute with Japan.

Some say the LKP is simply prioritizing tarnishing the reputation of the current government as a means to win in the general election next year.

Of course it is the role of the government to handle the situation, and it is the role of the opposition party to scrutinize the work of the government. But, the opposition party also has a duty to work on alternative policies to help with problems.

Clashes between parties are somewhat inevitable and natural. But when the country is in trouble, it would be desirable for the party to spend less time scrutinizing the government and more time working towards political or legislative measures to overcome difficulties.