The election of Moon Jae-in as leader of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy raised hopes ― at least, among those who support him and his party ― that it could provide momentum for the main opposition party to shake itself out of years in the doldrums and make a fresh start for victories in the next major elections.
Even some on the opposite end of the political spectrum also hoped that the NPAD under Moon would become a healthy and responsible opposition, leaving behind its internal factional strife and confrontational politics.
Moon’s decision to pay respects to two late presidents ― Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee ― was thus hailed as a well-timed conciliatory act, although some detractors dismissed it as no more than a political maneuver aimed at broadening the support base for him and his party.
Moon, the first chief of the liberal opposition party to visit the graves of the former leaders ― both conservative icons ― said he wishes the nation will achieve reconciliation and unity. He especially praised Rhee for playing the lead role in founding the republic and Park for contributing to industrialization.
What’s unfortunate for Moon and the NPAD was that his visit further widened the chasm inside the party. All five members of the Supreme Council, who were elected Sunday along with Moon, and about 50 lawmakers who accompanied Moon on his visit to the National Cemetery refused to visit the graves of Rhee and Park.
This narrow-mindedness would have disappointed even former President Kim Dae-jung, the political mentor for most of the NPAD’s leading members. Kim, who suffered life-threatening persecution during the Park administration, paid homage at the graves of Rhee and Park twice ― in 1992 as a presidential candidate and in 1997 as president-elect.
Some politicians went on to attack Moon, not least Rep. Jung Chung-rae, who compared Moon visiting Rhee and Park’s graves to a Jew visiting the tomb of Adolf Hitler.
Jung, one of the five Supreme Council members, also asked: “Will Koreans be able to pay respects at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo (which honors Japan’s war dead, including Class-A war criminals) even if Japan makes apologies (for its past misdeeds)?”
We are well aware that Jung is notorious for his spiteful tongue. We also accept that Rhee and Park made both good and bad marks on the nation’s history. But never could we agree to compare the past leaders of this nation with a man who committed one of the gravest crimes against mankind in history.
This episode shows that Moon’s election will not lead easily to a positive transformation of the opposition party, which has often been criticized for engrossing itself in extreme confrontations and opposition for opposition’s sake, while members like Jung often spit mean, hateful vitriol.
Moon filled the party’s key posts ― like the secretary-general, top policymaker, deputy floor leader and spokespersons ― with those outside his in-house faction. It was in line with his promise to end factional strife, which was cited as one of the causes of the extended crisis in the party.
Moon’s most urgent task is to improve the party’s public image, which will be impossible if bullheaded hard-liners like Jung are let loose and allowed to keep uttering words of hostility, malice and nastiness. They may make their blindly loyal supporters happy, but make many more turn their backs on the party.
