The rats are running

The Uri Party passed a revision of its constitution yesterday, at a meeting of its central committee. The revision will ease the party’s rules on membership qualifications.
Now that the party has adopted the revision, its chances of holding a national convention on Feb. 14 have increased.
But it does not seem to stop party members from leaving. The exodus of Uri members is taking place across all sections. Members are leaving the party, regardless of their ideologies, convictions or whether they are close to the president or not. The expression “a bunch of rats leaving a sinking ship” seems to apply to these politicians.
Even though politics has become increasingly disgraceful, politicians must have good reasons for the things they do. If they don’t, they are not much different from swindlers. Uri members who have left the party lately fit this profile.
They admit that the Uri Party has lost public support but they do not show regret for their wrongdoing, even though the party’s low approval rating is the result of what they have done for the past four years.
Politicians should do their best during their term and wait for the people’s verdict on their work at the next election. Even when they leave their party, they should examine what they have done wrong.
Take Uri lawmaker Chun Jung-bae as an example. He is one of the central founding figures of the Uri Party. He served as a floor leader and as the minister of justice. To whom can he pass responsibility?
When listening to their explanations for their departures, one feels confused about why they are leaving and what they are trying to do after their departure. Some say they want reforms and others say they will pursue a unilateral course. But none of them offered concrete reasons or plans.
The Uri Party has already called for reform. It is hard to know what other reforms the departing lawmakers hope to achieve. It just sounds like an excuse for their exodus.
They call for an integration of reform forces. If a majority of the party plans to leave only to be reunited under a new name, what is the point of leaving?
People are getting suspicious that this is a trick to avoid responsibility for the consequences of misdeeds over the past four years and to create a new administration to succeed President Roh.
If the Uri Party members hope to be regarded as honest politicians, they must take responsibility for what they have done.