As political parties are gearing up for the April 13 general election, all the negative aspects of Korean politics are being laid bare. Most salient among them are intraparty power struggle, promotion of populist promises and switching party affiliations.
This time, internal power struggle is more fiercer in the ruling Saenuri Party than in other parties as the confrontation between the faction loyal to President Park Geun-hye and its rival faction has exploded during the candidate nomination process.
The conflict between the “Pro-Parks” and “non-Parks” suspended the work of the party’s nomination panel for two days last week as party leader Kim Moo-sung, a non-Park, put the brake on some controversial decisions of the nomination committee.
The nomination panel, headed by the pro-Park Lee Hahn-koo, resumed its work Saturday, but the internal feud could become a tinderbox any time.
The sickening internal warfare in the ruling party is all the result of President Park’s usual hardball politics and the pro-Park faction’s pursuit of party hegemony, which they hope to reinforce until and after Park’s term of office that ends in two years.
The prevailing sentiment is that Lee and other pro-Park members of the nomination panel -- and Park who is their boss -- deserve criticism that they are using expedient guidelines to purge non-Parks.
Indeed, some lawmakers, including those who are close to Yoo Seong-min, for whom Park did not hide her hatred, were eliminated although they led their competitors in opinion surveys. Lee cited protection of the party’s identity to derail those lawmakers who are critical -- or not actively supportive -- of Park and her policies.
The problem of parties promoting populist election promises is more prevalent in The Minjoo Party of Korea. Good examples are the pledge to raise the monthly salary of enlisted soldiers and the monthly payment of the pension plan for the elderly. As usual, the party did not mention where the money will come from.
Another repulsive thing is that many politicians are switching their party affiliation without the slightest hesitation. The Saenuri and the Minjoo have already dropped tens of lawmakers from their nomination races, and some of them have opted to run as independents or moved to other parties.
Most unnerving is that the People’s Party, which was built by a group of politicians who left the Minjoo with a call for new politics, is busy admitting lawmakers who failed to get nomination from the Minjoo. The party says it will become a new political force, but it is already emulating the established parties it accused of being outdated.
