GNP should bury the hatchet

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GNP should bury the hatchet

The government has officially begun preparing a possible alternative mission for Sejong City, a yet-to-be-created municipality in South Chungcheong. The city was first set to be an administrative city for the government, effectively cutting the capital in two.

Sixteen non-government experts were handpicked to work on a committee to create the alternative. The government and ruling Grand National Party agreed to expedite procedures and draw up the new plan within the year in hope of ending the great social divide over the matter. Warring politicians should now bury the hatchet and wait to see what better option the government can come up with.

National interest should be the top priority in figuring out what to do with Sejong City. But the ruling party has inflamed the matter into an emotional internal feud and power war between followers of President Lee Myung-bak and his political rival, Park Geun-hye.

Some backers of the president looked silly when they railed against former GNP head Park during the legislative audit on state affairs. They accused Park of backing the original plan in order to preserve her voter base in Chungcheong.

They should be concentrating on working with the government to create a viable plan instead of pointing fingers at their own party family members for refusing to go along with their plan.

Park’s followers are just as bad. They have formed a tight gang and hide behind the banner of “principle and promise,” leaving no room for compromise. They resort to inflammatory rhetoric against President Lee for supposedly reneging on a promise to the people. But none of the rhetoric coming from both sides is productive or mature. All it accomplishes is the reinforcement of the party’s image as being fractious and engrossed in self-interest.

Sejong City is an enigma that would need at least 10 Solomons to solve. The matter will slip further into the abyss if the ruling party adds to the problem with their archaic feud. What use is politics if it makes a problem and then exacerbates it?

There is some talk calling for a truce. Joo Ho-young, minister for political affairs, recently met with Rep. Park to discuss ways to find a middle ground. We hope the factions will cease fighting among themselves. If they can’t even talk to each other, how can they hope to communicate with the opposition?
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