[Editorial] Reform of parties

Rep. Koh Seung-deok of the Grand National Party is a first-term lawmaker from Seocho district of Seoul. He is called a “genius in Yeoeuido” with a diploma from Seoul National University College of Law, LL.M.’s from Yale Law School and Harvard Law School and J.D. from Columbia Law School. He passed the state judiciary examination as an SNU sophomore and the diplomatic and administration service exams in 1980, the year he graduated from the SNU law college with top honors. He also has CPA and patent lawyer’s licenses.

When Rep. Koh made the disclosure last week that a contender for party chairman in a recent general convention tried to bribe him with 3 million won in cash to buy his support and that the would-be briber was elected after he returned the money, it was almost a coup de grace for the ailing ruling party. The unique credentials of the accuser added more credibility to his claims than the usual devil hunting by attention-thirsty politicians.

After a few days of wild guessing by the media, Koh gave the name Park Hee-tae, current National Assembly speaker, to prosecutors in an inquiry Sunday afternoon. Yonhap News quoted him as saying that Park’s business card was put in a Manila envelope which also contained the cash in three white envelopes. Koh said his aide noticed that the courier from Park’s office carried a shopping bag which had more similar-looking Manila envelopes in it.

Why the accusation came 3 1/2 years after the July 2008 GNP convention was not immediately clear. Speculations have it that it may be yet another offensive from the pro-Park Geun-hye faction against the pro-Lee Myung-bak group, which includes Park Hee-tae, or that Koh was simply maneuvering to secure his nomination by a new party leadership for the April parliamentary elections.

But “why” at this moment is not as important as the impact of the disclosure on the ruling party, which has been drifting like a tiny boat in a storm after its defeat in the Oct. 26 Seoul mayoral by-election. Park Geun-hye came to the fore as the head of an emergency committee mandated to take drastic reform measures to save the party, but the uncovering of some GNP-related people’s “DDoS” cyber attack on the election management office during the mayoral vote shook up the party, and now Rep. Koh’s bombshell.

The present wretchedness of the party, which still has a comfortable majority in the Assembly and their man in the presidential office, is unprecedented in the political history of Korea and perhaps elsewhere in the world. Economic difficulties leading to severe youth unemployment, perennial factional feuds between followers of the incumbent president and the strongest contender for the next presidency, and the audacious manners of successive party leaderships have combined to create a most unpopular ruling party in decades.

Since its formation two weeks ago, the GNP emergency committee, an assortment of academics, innovative businesspeople and present and former lawmakers, has been churning out reform ideas to freshen up the image of a beleaguered party but it has so far generated more internal tension than new energy for renovation. Just three months are left before the April 11 general elections, and Park Geun-hye has to do two things to present a changed party to the electorate ― a fresh, strongly appealing platform and equally fresh roster of party nominees. The prosecution’s investigation into Koh’s accusation will be trailing this process.

Already, suggestion from a senior emergency committee member to drop the word “conservative” from the party platform touched off a sharp backlash from party members and more will come when the panel work out further liberal policies aimed at younger voters. Nearly a half of the incumbent lawmakers will perhaps be dropped from nomination and the list of proportional representation candidates will likely be all surprises.

Park and the emergency committee are about to conduct a crucial experiment which will either make or break the party. It will be an experiment for the whole of Korean politics to end its tradition and culture, which have been nurtured and sustained by dirty money. They need to exhibit a deep sense of their historic mission.