[Editorial] Stop the never-ending blame game

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[Editorial] Stop the never-ending blame game

Floor leaders of the major opposition Democratic Party (DP) and the People Power Party (PPP) took turns to make speeches at the National Assembly on Tuesday. Despite their allegedly long preparations, their speech was utterly disappointing. Rep. Park Hong-geun, DP floor leader, put all the blame on the conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration led by the PPP. “What are the government and PPP doing when people are suffering from high prices, including skyrocketing utility bills?” he asked.

That’s not all. Rep. Park who represents the liberal party holding 169 seats in the 300-member legislature attributed tough livelihoods of the people to the Yoon administration. Mentioning the name of the president as many as 39 times during the speech, he tersely said. “The problem is President Yoon.” The third-term lawmaker did not show any self-reflection about the mounting judicial risks of DP Chair Lee Jae-myung already indicted on a plethora of criminal charges. Instead, Park attacked President Yoon for “orchestrating a methodical investigation of Lee by prosecutors” and for “oppressing the opposition” in a democracy. Park had promised to reform the DP after its crushing defeat in the local elections in June last year.

But the following speech by PPP floor leader Joo Ho-young was no different. Except for a fleeting moment of regret about dirty politics, he blamed the DP for “rapid collapse of democracy since the DP took an overwhelming majority of seats” in the parliamentary elections in 2020. In reaction to Park’s criticism on the Yoon administration for “five national disasters,” the PPP floor leader counterattacked the Moon Jae-in administration on four areas, including personnel affairs, fiscal conditions, legislation and a relentless campaign to root out past corruptions.

Blaming one another naturally leads to opposite solutions. After Park justified a railroading of bills based on the majority status of the DP, Joo countered it by defining the DP’s overbearing ways as “a serious infringement on the rule of law.” We are dumbfounded at the two leaders’ deep-rooted hostilities toward each other.

The alarming developments signal a bumpy road ahead. A revision to the Local Tax Act to reduce the heavy tax burden for real estate acquired by corporate entities are still stuck in a subcommittee. A bill aimed to raise the tax credit rate for investments in semiconductors and batteries does not show any progress, not to mention another bill aimed at allowing small companies with fewer than 30 employees to extend their work hours when needed.

Fortunately, Park expressed the need for cooperation between the two parties. Joo also underscored the role of the legislature in leading the country for a better future. If they are really aware of it, they must prove it through actions, not words. The situation at home and abroad cannot afford an unceasing battle.
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