Politicians' hunger strike

By Park Moo-jong

When it comes to the lawmakers of today, the people have no choice but to heave a deep sigh.

Not to speak of their signature inability to tackle a heap of critical national tasks, an unprecedented, bizarre incident is plaguing parliament from the very start of its first regular session.

The new leader of the ruling party is staging a hunger strike for the fifth day in his parliamentary office, demanding the resignation of the National Assembly speaker from the majority opposition party.

Rep. Lee Jung-hyun, the chairman of the Saenuri Party, vowed to fast "indefinitely" until Speaker Chung Sye-kyun stepped down, taking responsibility for "his illicit" proceeding of a plenary session to pass the opposition-backed no-confidence motion against a newly appointed Cabinet member.

If Speaker Chung does not resign and Rep. Lee keeps his word, Lee will starve to death.

A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which the strikers fast as an act of political protest or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, with the objective to achieve a specific goal like Lee's demand.

Of course, there shall not be the slightest chance of Lee's fasting to the end as most hunger strikes take liquids but not solid food and action is often terminated through the use of "force-feeding."

One of the most influential hunger strikers in history was Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948). The modern-day pioneer of civil disobedience of India used fasting liberally as a way to make a political statement and call attention to his crusade for political equity.

One of the most sensational hunger strikes was by Bobby Sands (1954-1981), an Irish member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, who died after 66 days of not eating in a prison in protest for better rights behind bars. He was part of the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike that ended only after nine other men died and ten men survived without food for 46 to 73 days, taking only water and salt.

As far as hunger strikes are concerned, South Korean politicians are definitely second to none in the world.

The national political history testifies to the "effectiveness" of the hunger strike, mostly by leaders from the opposition camp.

To date, our politicians' hunger strikes were something like the symbol of the fight for the democratization of the nation under the authoritarian governments of former Presidents Park Chung-hee (1917-1979) and Chun Doo-hwan (1931~ ).

The late former President Kim Young-sam (1927-2015) went on a 23-day hunger strike in 1983 in protest to the then President Chun government's ban on his political activity and house arrest.

Chun's regime forcibly hospitalized Kim, but he went on fasting amid strong public support until he was released from house arrest. His hunger strike eventually contributed to the revision of the Constitution for the direct presidential election in 1987.

Ironically, 12 years later it was Chun's turn. The former president was arrested on suspicion of treason in 1995 under the government of then President Kim and Chun staged a hunger strike in prison in protest.

Kim's successor, the late President Kim Dae-jung (1924-2009), also played an important role to change the modern history of the nation through his hunger strike. In 1990, he launched a 13-day fast against the then ruling camp's plan to introduce the parliamentary Cabinet system and for the implementation of local autonomy. And he achieved the goals.

Current opposition leaders are no exception. Moon Jae-in, one of the strong candidates for next year's presidential election, fasted for 26 days in 2014, demanding the legislation of a special law on the Sewol ferry sinking accident. The law was enacted.

Ironically and interestingly enough, the fasting chairman of the ruling minority party severely criticized opposition lawmakers who were not eating when they called for the legislation of the special Sewol law two years ago.

During his interpellation, Lee said, "The Republic of Korea must be the sole country among G20, where persons who make the law do not abide by the law. In such countries where election systems are well settled, the Republic of Korea must be the only one where lawmakers stage hunger strikes."

Such as Lee is doing. Our politicians must be geniuses who easily forget what they do not like to remember.

These are mere examples of our politicians' hunger strikes to attain their political goals.

They have to listen to ordinary citizens' quip: "Ah, they really have so much to eat. So they must be on a diet to lose weight."

The Republic of Korea of today is not happy at all. North Korea, an undisputed rogue country, is continually threatening the world with nuclear weapons, and militant labor unions at subways, hospitals, banks and Hyundai Motor are staging strikes for more pay.

And even the National Assembly is adding insult to injury, with the ruling minority Saenuri Party boycotting the parliamentary audit and inspection of the administration, led by its chairman's hunger strike.

All these political upsets testify to the sad absence of dialogue, cooperation, compromise and concession in the nation's political world, forcing the politicians to resort to the extreme method of the hunger strike.

German-born Swiss novelist Hermann Hesse (1877-1922), who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946, said, "If a man has nothing to eat, fasting is the most intelligent thing he can do."

If a politician has something to eat, fasting may be the most foolish thing he or she can do.

Park Moo-jong is the Korea Times advisor. He served as the president-publisher of the nation's first English newspaper from 2004 to 2014 after working as a reporter for the daily since 1974. He can be reached at moojongh@ktimes.com or emjei29@gmail.com.