Five days to the future

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Five days to the future

Published: 19 Nov. 2007, 21:22

The registration deadline for the presidential candidates is only five days away. If Lee Myung-bak worked with Kim Gyeong-jun to defraud investors, prosecutors must tell the people within five days so the Grand National Party can replace its presidential candidate. After registration day, a political party can replace its candidate within another five days ― but only in case the candidate dies. So, the remaining days before Sunday are very important. If it turns out that Lee is not involved in the scandal, the suspicions will be cleared.
The people feel bitter, waiting to see what will happen during these five days. Korea was founded in 1948. We Koreans have made our country the world’s 12th-largest economy with sweat and blood for the past 60 years. Why should the destiny of the country depend on the next five days?
The presidential election campaign has been going on for one-and-a-half years. Political vision and dignity are nowhere to be seen, but the future of the country depends on the tongue of a 41-year-old investment fraud suspect. This is the limit of our society. The leading contender in the presidential election has weak moral values. A former prime minister rose up in revolt. The presidential candidate of the largest political party in the National Assembly is on shaky ground. The minor parties are struggling to produce a single candidate among them. This is the chaos we are experiencing.
However, we can’t just blame ourselves. Every one of us must feel a sense of duty for the next five days so our country does not lose its footing. Prosecutors must swiftly present fair investigation results. There is no room for mere assumptions. Lee and the Grand National Party must stop using agitating words, such as the “people’s uprising,” but instead must wait calmly. The stances of the United New Democratic Party, Lee Hoi-chang and minor political parties are not right, either. They call the leading presidential candidate, with a support rate of 40 percent, a fraud and a liar without evidence. This is an insult to the people who support him.
Voters must calmly and cooly endure the next five days. History has been made at the edge of a cliff before.
In 1997, Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-pil formed a coalition and in 2002, Roh Moo-hyun and Chung Mong-jun decided that only a single candidate would run.
Now, the truth is not far away. When the truth is revealed, voters will simply have to punish the people who committed wrongdoings and choose the right path.