[EDITORIALS]Our Open Party must back law

Our Open Party and its floor leader, Representative Kim Keun-tae, seem to have problems understanding the law. In a television debate, Mr. Kim did not give an answer on whether he would accept the Constitutional Court’s decision on the president’s impeachment.
“To say that there is no suspension of constitutional government because the National Assembly’s decision on impeachment is legal is tantamount to the logic used by Adolf Hitler when he seized power with Nazism,” Mr. Kim said.
When Mr. Kim’s statement drew controversy, Our Open Party said, “Mr. Kim never said he would not accept the Constitutional Court’s decision.”
However, Mr. Kim’s true intentions were evident in what he said during the debate.
The very fact that the issue of submitting to the court’s decision is becoming a controversy shows what a politically backward and underdeveloped nation we are. This proves that the rule of law is not well established in our nation.
If we ignore the law and do not submit to a legal decision, why would we partake in elections and why do parties seek majority seats in elections? Our Open Party must answer these questions.
The party members must reveal what kind of society they want. Such self-righteousness and ignorance of rules stated in the constitution are what make democracy collapse.
If these debates are part of a campaign strategy to rekindle the impeachment debate in hopes of helping the party, then it is all the more regretful.
Whether this is a ploy to amass votes by emphasizing the impeachment crisis or not, the very act is destroying the fundamentals of our nation for the sake of short-term election gains. We wonder what they think voters will expect from those political powers that do not trust constitutional governance.
Our Open Party must come out and say that it will unconditionally accept the court’s decision. It must reject the opportunistic approach of accepting the decision if it is favorable and rejecting it if it is not.
They bring up the opinion poll results often, but they must bear in mind that constitutional governance is more important than popular opinion.