hankyoreh

a social movement protesting the police’s recent raid on the building during the Korean Railway Workers’ Union strike

The New Year is here at last! The reason that the first morning of 2014 feels so special is that the past year was so very long and challenging for the Korean people. Even so, at the beginning of last year, there was a glimmer of hope for the new Park Geun-hye administration, which had vowed to bring in an age of happiness for the Korean people that would include economic democratization, welfare, and peace. At the least, we had hoped that it would look different from the five years of the Lee Myung-bak administration, which had been a regression for Korean society and democracy. However, those expectations were completely betrayed. Economic democratization and welfare proved to have been a sham, empty slogans employed for the election. Once the Park Geun-hye administration removed the mask it had worn to get elected, it turned out to be even more regressive and anti-historical than the Lee Myung-bak administration.

The administration’s far-right nature began to be revealed with the appointment of far-right pundit Yoon Chang-joon as Blue House spokesperson, an example of Park’s habit of making political appointments on her own. The true nature of the administration came into full view when Park filled important positions including the prime minister with former public security prosecutors and selected Kim Gi-chun, who started his career under the Yushin regime, as presidential chief of staff. With the government dominated by the far right, the political process was forgotten, and the country was buffeted for the whole year by public security issues.

In order to block the release of evidence that state institutions had interfered in the 2012 presidential election - thus violating the people’s right to participate in elections, a fundamental tenet of democracy - the administration blackballed former prosecutor-general Chae Dong-wook and tried to muzzle the opposition throughout the year with accusations that they were pro-North Korea. It was not enough to bring back up the controversy over the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West (Yellow) Sea, which had been employed to good effect during the election. Instead, the government committed the diplomatic outrage of making public the transcript of the 2007 inter-Korean summit.

In the eyes of the far right, labor unions were no more than something to be crushed. The government informed the Korea Teachers’ and Education Workers' Union (KTU) - which Park had gone as far as to describe as a “pest” - that its official status was being revoked, and at the end of the year it brutally forced its way into the headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). This was also the administration that approved the use of history textbooks that even earned the scorn of Japan’s far-right establishment.

Before even half a year into her presidency, Park Geun-hye dispensed with her pledge of economic democratization and reverted to her true nature of cutting taxes, relaxing regulations, and making laws. Her repeated efforts to privatize key state corporations including the railways and granting medical organizations permission to convert to for-profit status showed how she had reverted to the market triumphalism whose limitations had become clear during the financial crisis in 2008. As a result, chaebol filled their bellies while the Korean people groaned under the weight of household debt, which now exceeds 1 quadrillion won. If we continue at this rate, there is even a risk that the crisis that the government itself created will blow up.

What brought us to this place? It cannot be denied that the incompetence and neglect of politicians played a role in letting the government become a runaway train going in reverse. The ruling party hurried to become the lackey of the administration, while the opposition party showed its helplessness as it was dragged around by the governing powers without even offering a viable alternative. When a university student asked toward the end of the year how Koreans are doing nowadays, people all over the country responded that they were not okay. This shows the sad reality of the Korean people, who have spent the last year looking for, but failing to find, any relief.

Now, politicians must respond to the cries of Koreans who are asking for a better day. There is nowhere left for us to fall back to. If we don’t want to tumble off the cliff, we have to switch out of reverse and move forward in history. The primary responsibility for that lies with President Park Geun-hye, who is the captain of the Korean ship. The view of Park we have seen over the past year has been that of a vengeful queen attempting to right the wrongs done to her father. But you can’t spend five years settling scores. This is not Park Chung-hee Season 2 for Park Geun-hye. Rather, she has her own historical mission to perform. More than 10 years into the 21st century, Park must come to terms with what history is asking of her, and she must meet that responsibility.

The area surrounding the Korean peninsula is currently caught in an uncontrollable maelstrom. Under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan is on the road toward rearmament. China, which has emerged as a regional powerhouse, is attempting to flex its military muscles, unilaterally declaring an air defense identification zone (ADIZ). Abe has blustered that standing up to China is Japan’s contribution to the world, and China has warned that it will go to war to defend the Diaoyu Islands (Senkaku in Japanese), which are the center of a territorial dispute with Japan. Having declared a pivot to the Pacific, the US is putting pressure on South Korea, telling it to place its bets on the right country, the US. This is a crisis in which South Korea is in danger of being pulverized in a conflict between larger powers. If we are to safely navigate the turmoil of international conflict, it is imperative that we maintain internal stability and forge a cooperative relationship with North Korea.

It will be difficult for Park not to start the year with the attitude that she is beginning a new term in office. The most urgent thing is for her to sever ties with the far-right movement. A number of recent public opinion polls have made it clear that South Korea’s moderates are deserting Park. This indicates their opposition to Park being controlled by the far right and alienating the majority. Park must once again embrace the rational conservatives who put her in office, and she must expand her reach, becoming a leader for all. She must also redouble her efforts to communicate, paying heed to criticism from the opposition party and civil society. Only when Park has the support of the majority of Koreans can we achieve a stable relationship with North Korea and move forward on the road toward peace and coexistence. North Korea is in such an unstable and perilous situation that it executed its second in command.

The responsibility for pressuring Park to carry out the duty demanded by the times belongs not only to the political opposition and other advocates of progressive reform but also to each and every citizen. We must all be vigilant as we scrutinize the people in power and constantly remind them of their duty to ensure the peace and happiness of the people. A better life is not free for the taking: it demands our toil and effort.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]