Shame on the UPP

The Unified Progressive Party has announced it will embark on a campaign to oppose the annual Key Resolve drill, a joint military exercise between the armed forces of South Korea and the United States, which begins today. Even though the far-left party toned down its description of the drill from “a war exercise to invade North Korea” to “an exercise to attack the North,” nothing has changed indeed. The UPP plans to hold simultaneous interviews, rallies and sit-ins across the country starting today. It even set up a situation room in its headquarters last week to prepare for any emergencies around the clock.

We are dumbfounded at the behavior of the ultra-left party despite Pyongyang’s repeated vows to attack us with nuclear weapons. Does the party deny the legitimacy of a drill aimed at strengthening the defense capability of our forces? Do they deserve South Korean citizenship if they stage demonstrations in protest of our forces’ defense exercise even when the regime in Pyongyang has threatened to raise its national flag over Mount Halla on Jeju Island? Are they willing to fight against the North Korean People’s Army if it begins an all-out war with us? Or will they welcome them?

It’s almost needless to criticize the UPP’s overly pro-North ideology as its Web site has already been flooded with angry comments from netizens across the country. Instead, we have to wonder whether the government needs to provide a subsidy for a political party that acts as if it were the voice of the North’s Workers’ Party. The party received nearly 700 million won ($642,497) from state coffers in the first quarter alone following the 2.7 billion won it received from the December presidential election. We are utterly dismayed at the party’s contradictory behavior of blaming our government and military while enjoying all types of privileges.

The main opposition Democratic United Party undoubtedly helped the UPP win six seats in the April legislative elections as it backed the splinter party’s candidates in an electoral alliance to field a single candidate in sensitive battlegrounds. We also should not forget that there are always pro-UPP voters among us, albeit not a lot.

The proportional representatives of the splinter party received a whopping 10.3 percent of the votes in the last legislative elections, which means that 10.3 percent of our population agrees to the policy direction of the leftist party. We strongly demand those UPP supporters think again. Would it be acceptable for a political entity to sympathize with Pyongyang’s arguments even at the cost of people’s taxes?