Will apology for ex-presidents set turning point for main opposition party?

Main opposition People Power Party (PPP) emergency committee chief Kim Chong-in speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly, Tuesday. Kim apologized over the crimes of two former presidents from the conservative camp, Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, who were convicted of corruption and put behind bars, vowing to push ahead with reform of the party. Yonhap

'PPP needs to take further action and create real change to earn public's trust'

By Jung Da-min

The main opposition People Power Party's (PPP) apology for crimes committed by jailed former presidents from the conservative camp may help the party embrace some centrist voters but is insufficient to gain the public's trust in its reform pledge, analysts said.

PPP interim chief Kim Chong-in held a press conference at the National Assembly, Tuesday, and apologized for the crimes of the former presidents, Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, who were convicted for corruption and put behind bars, vowing to the public that the party would push ahead with reforms to become an alternative that can hold the liberal ruling bloc in check.

Kim's apology drew the attention of political watchers as it was the first of its kind made by the leadership of the conservative party, which served as the country's ruling party under the two former presidents, albeit under different party names at the time.

“A political party that produced a president is given the responsibility and duty from the people to lead the country well, together with the president. The president's fault is the ruling party's fault. As the then-ruling party, we failed to fulfill our responsibilities and it was a heavy fault that we did not find the problems of the ruling bloc in advance,” Kim said.

“For the first time in the history of the Constitution, the president (Park) was impeached, and we needed to reflect on our conduct, but we lacked the attitude of reflection. We bow our heads and apologize for the great disappointment that the people would have felt at our unchanged attitude.”

Political watchers said Kim's apology was meaningful as it could offer a political turning point for the party to embrace some centrist or conservative voters who turned away from the conservative bloc after the impeachment of former President Park. But they said further action, such as a personnel reshuffle within the party or revisions to the party platform, is needed to regain the public's trust.

“Among the many people who attended the candlelit rallies against former President Park, there were centrists and supporters of the conservative bloc. These people would not support the PPP again as long as the majority of its members are still pro-Lee Myung-bak or pro-Park Geun-hye, unless there is a special turning point,” said Shin Yul, a political science and diplomacy professor at Myongji University. “When such people do not support President Moon Jae-in either, the conservative party needs to reach out to them first… From that perspective, Kim's apology could have its own meaning.”

Political commentator Park Sang-byoung said, however, it has yet to be seen whether Kim's apology will lead to real changes in the PPP's political activities, such as a reshuffle of the party personnel or revisions of the party platform.

“Kim's apology gives the impression that it was individually directed by Kim without gaining consensus among the party members. It remains to be seen how much the party will reflect on the content of Kim's apology in searching for alternatives to create its values in the future,” Park said.

Park also said it is likely that Kim's apology would end up as a one-man show as seen in August, when Kim kneeled and bowed his head during his visit to the May 18th National Cemetery for people who were killed by the military suppression of the 1980 pro-democracy movement in Gwangju. Kim's apology and kneeling on behalf of the conservative party, whose far-right members made remarks distorting and disparaging the history of the city, drew attention among political watchers but the move did not lead to any substantial political achievements.

Adding to the political slump for the PPP was that it does not have sufficient power to hold the ruling bloc in check.

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has a supermajority of 173 seats, while the PPP has just 103 seats. The DPK has recently steamrolled through the passage of contentious bills, including one related to the launch of a special investigative body to look into high-profile corruption cases, despite the strong protest of the PPP.

“If the PPP leadership accepts the reality in which the party has only 103 seats against the supermajority ruling bloc, PPP floor leader Rep. Joo Ho-young is urged to devise a strategy to communicate more with the public,” Park said. “When criticizing the ruling bloc's policy failures such as its controversial real estate policy, for example, the PPP needs to present its own alternative but it has not been doing so.”