[EDITORIALS]Spare us the arrogance

"If the Grand National Party wins the presidential election, we will save our lawmaker You Sung-keun," leaders of the opposition Grand National Party pledged en masse at a meeting to support Mr. You on Tuesday. Such remarks bewilder us. Mr. You's election was voided last year on charges that he violated election laws. Mr. You is awaiting a final ruling of those charges from the Supreme Court.

The Grand National Party's leaders expressed their outrage on Tuesday and said that the earlier ruling should be voided after their party wins the presidential election. The remark by Grand National Party leaders completely differs from the party's belief in laws and principles. Party members argued that they would restore Mr. You's seat in the National Assembly in the cause of justice, but that is nothing more than a display of the members' ignorance of the legal system. Although opposition leaders met to sympathize with Mr. You and to demonstrate a feeling of fellowship with him, such deeds are undeniable aberrations, amounting to a desecration of the judicial decision.

The Grand National Party has criticized this administration's breaches of the law, reflected in the corruption scandals that seemingly occur daily. The opposition party itself can be criticized for demanding strict and rigid punishment for the wrongdoings of others while covering up its own faults. The opposition leader Lee Hoi-chang cheered up Mr. You by saying that he realized things do not always follow a rational course after he saw Mr. You's election had been invalidated. We wonder how some people can believe that following the law is irrational.

When one considers the case of Representative Choi Don-woong, the Grand National Party's attitude about observing the law becomes even more questionable. Mr. Choi gave up his seat in the National Assembly just before the Supreme Court's final ruling of invalidation, and ran for a by-election seat on Oct. 25. He won, but the public criticized the abnormal way he had evaded the court ruling. The Grand National Party can be seen as arrogant because of its remark of "if we win the presidential election." The Grand National Party should take laws and principles to heart and apologize for its slip at the meeting Tuesday to support Mr. You.