[EDITORIALS]All sizzle, no steak

Strange things are going on in the election campaigns for the post of Seoul mayor. The candidates are running weird campaigns.
Kang Kum-sill, the candidate of the Uri Party, has started a 72-hour campaign without sleep, saying that she was declaring the start of “new politics.”
The Grand National candidate, Oh Se-hoon, plans to continue a “triathlon campaign” while walking, running and cycling.
Do they want to make campaigns sports competitions? It is a pity that the candidates are distorting the meaning of the local elections.
Staying up three nights or doing a triathlon is a challenge to a human’s mental and physical limits.
When ordinary people do such things to test their will power, nothing is wrong. But what does the campaign for the post of Seoul mayor have to do with a vigil or a triathlon?
It is ugly that they are even fighting with each other, one saying Ms. Kang is cat-napping and the other saying Mr. Oh is trying to copy Ms. Kang’s campaign.
We all know why they’re doing this. They want to get votes and get elected. They try to fight with their images, not with their personalities or pledges.
They try to deceive citizens with images that lack a substantial core. The citizens of Seoul should not be fooled by these so-called campaigns.
Both Ms. Kang and Mr. Oh were nominated in their parties’ primary elections because of their special characteristics as fresh blood.
But instead of presenting fresh policies and running new types of campaigns, they are playing these physical games. Is that all they have?
If what they mean by new politics is running campaigns by displaying images or setting up events, it’s hugely disappointing.
When Kim One-ki, the speaker of the National Assembly, retired recently, he said that as a person who had been in politics for 30 years, he felt disillusioned to see election campaigns focused on presenting images and provoking sensations.
We should prevent disasters that could result from such practices and revive decent politics, he added.
Campaigns and politics focused on images soon reveal their empty cores the moment the bubbles disappear. Stunts such as vigil campaigns or a triathlon only add to popular abhorrence of politics.
The candidates should stop these silly performances right now.