hankyoreh

A historical day has dawned. On the afternoon of Dec. 9, a full session of the National Assembly will vote on a motion of impeachment against President Park Geun-hye. South Korea is now standing at a critical crossroads.

The motion for Park’s impeachment is both the first step toward repairing the damaged constitutional order and the beginning of a long journey toward restoring democracy. It is a critical step toward reversing various kinds of harm inflicted on the constitutional order not only by shadowy figures like Choi Sun-sil but also by Park herself, as well as toward healing the people’s wounded pride. Impeaching the president is not a suspension of constitutional government but rather a continuation of constitutional government that complies with constitutional procedure. It is a living testament to the fact that democracy is alive and well in this land. It is also a step toward reconfirming the spirit of Article 1 of the constitution, which states that the sovereignty of the Republic of Korea belongs to the people and that all state authority emanates from them.

The day before the vote on the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye

Public opinion has long been united about Park’s impeachment. The demands for Park to step down from her position transcend generational, class, ideological and regional differences. Even the latest public opinion polls show that 78.2% of respondents are in favor of impeachment. Since the National Assembly represents the people, all it needs to do is faithfully obey the will of the people. Serving the will of one’s constituents is the heart of representative democracy. Passing the motion of impeachment by an overwhelming margin is a historic mission that cannot be disobeyed for any reason.

For that reason, it is both absurd and tragic that speculation is continuing about the expected result of the impeachment vote. It is bizarre and regrettable that the ruling Saenuri Party of all parties holds the key to passing the motion of impeachment, considering that it was essentially an accomplice in dismantling the constitutional government. The members of the Saenuri Party must grasp the full significance of the fact that they are being mocked and parodied as a “party of manipulative eunuchs” and “a party for people leaving politics” and that bouquets of white chrysanthemums (usually brought to funerals) are being put in front of the party’s local offices. Despite this, the pro-Park wing of the party is still putting all its effort into stopping the passage of the motion of impeachment, while the anti-Park wing continues to waver back and forth like a leaf in a gale.

The failure of the motion of impeachment would have unimaginably horrible consequences. The candles in the rallies would turn into torches, and those torches would burn down the entire political establishment, not distinguishing between the ruling and opposition parties. The failure of the motion of the impeachment would mean the end of politics and the downfall of the National Assembly. The only things awaiting parties and politicians who think they know better than the people and attempt to defy their will is destruction and ruin. If representative democracy is unable to adequately express the demands of direct democracy, there is no reason for it to continue. Politics has been distorted by political interests that reject the will of the people, and it’s time for that to stop. We hope that politicians will stop testing the protesters’ patience.

Even worse, Park is very likely to break her promise to step down in April of next year if the National Assembly votes against impeachment. When the press asked a key Blue House aide whether it would implement the Saenuri Party’s proposal for Park to step down next April if the motion of impeachment fails, the aide said that that proposal was no longer on the table. This means that Park would take the failure of the impeachment motion as a political pardon and never relinquish control of the presidency. When even the constitutional procedure of impeachment has been exhausted, there is no telling what outlet the people will find for their anger. A failure of the motion for impeachment would leave us in a vast desert of chaos.

There is also a continuing debate about whether it was appropriate to list the seven hours after the sinking of the Sewol ferry as one of the grounds for impeaching Park. Some argue that Park’s dereliction of her duty does not justify impeachment and that nothing would have changed even if she had been at the scene of the accident in person.

But that is not the point. The single fact that Park was having her hair done at the moment that the children trapped on the Sewol were sinking beneath the icy waves is enough to justify Park’s impeachment. A president who cares more about her hairstyle than about the lives and safety of her people is already disqualified to be president. Park’s lack of love, her inadequate sympathy for human life and her inhumane attitude are the most important reasons that she should be impeached.

The appropriateness of impeaching Park was confirmed once again during a hearing before the special parliamentary hearing on Dec. 7. Cha Eun-taek and Go Yeong-tae made a series of shocking statements: “I felt like Choi Sun-sil was on the same level as the president”; “I thought that they were sharing power”; “Choi Sun-sil was number one in the hierarchy”; and “Choi Sun-sil viewed Vice Culture Minister Kim Jong as her personal assistant.” Laid out in everyday language, the political manipulation of Park’s shadowy allies and the sorry collapse of the system of government has pierced the people’s hearts like a dagger.

“The resources of the state were unjustly squandered under the guise of the law and the spirit of the state was butchered in government programs on which the national brand and dignity depended,” said Yeo Myeong-suk, former director of the Game Rating and Administration Committee. Her remarks eloquently express why Park must be impeached.

members of the opposition Minjoo Party hold a candlelight demonstration on the steps to the National Assembly main hall

Impeachment is a fresh start for the Republic of Korea

Passing the motion for impeachment is not the end but the beginning. Impeachment is not the final stop in the Choi Sun-sil scandal but rather the first stop toward a new future for the Republic of Korea. This is an opportunity not merely to remove the people who appropriated state resources for themselves but to replace the obsolete systems, conditions and structures that made such appropriation possible. Passing the motion for impeachment is how we start creating a new democratic republic by washing the country clean with the “tears of the candles,” and it is the first step on the long journey toward completing the civic revolution in the truest sense of that phrase. The country is standing at the crossroads, and it’s time to embark on that journey.

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