Don’t degrade election

This is an unusual presidential election. Six days remain before voters head to the polls, but the politicians are more interested in the legislative election, scheduled for April of next year.
Not only lawmakers, but also presidential candidates appear to have given upon the presidential election. For them, the voting in the presidential election means nothing more than a stepping stone to the legislative election. Such an attitude seriously damages the essence of the presidential election.
The United New Democratic Party said it will continue its offensive regarding the BBK scandal even after the presidential election. It hopes to create a favorable atmosphere for its legislative candidates by using the independent counsel probe of the Samsung case and the planned independent counsel investigation of the BBK case.
Furthermore, lawmakers of the United New Democratic Party are not even showing up at party headquarters and they are spending most of their time at their electoral districts. The UNDP presidential candidate Chung Dong-young even had to step up and yell at those lawmakers for doing nothing in the presidential campaign.
Lee Hoi-chang, an independent candidate who represented the Grand National Party twice in past elections, also declared that he will create a new political party after the Dec. 19 presidential election. It is no secret that he will prepare for the legislative election by creating a party based in the Chungcheong and Gyeongsang regions.
Moon Kook-hyun of the Creative Korea Party said, “By doing well in the presidential election, we can take the initiative in the political realignment after the presidential election.”
The presidential election apparently has become a tool to gain control of the legislative election, and we are witnessing that strange reality right now.
Of course, this odd phenomenon is a result of one candidate’s long-time lead in the presidential election. When a candidate says he will leave politics after losing the presidential race, workers in his campaign lose hope and give up.
There is also no law governing the purpose of running for president. It is legitimate for a candidate to join the race to make public his policy and political philosophy. Still, there is no justification for a presidential candidate who runs only for the legislative election. That degrades the presidential election and reduces it to a primary for the legislative election.
The presidential election is an opportunity to select the captain who will lead our country for the next five years. The indifference in the presidential race by political parties and candidates is irresponsible and limits the people’s right to choose their leader. The candidates must do their best till the end by promoting their vision and policy.