Swallowing your pride for the greater good

Kim Hyun-ki
The author is the Tokyo bureau chief and rotating correspondent of the JoongAng Ilbo.

The Old Town Square in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, always brims with tourists. The must-see jewel of the historic city is the medieval astronomical clock mounted on the Old Town Hall. Called Prague Orloj, the clock dates back to 1,410, and was laboriously created and recreated by mathematics and astronomy professors of the University of Prague. It epitomizes the science and art of the Gothic Age. The clock announces the time every hour. When a skeleton rings the bell, it triggers the movement of various figurines and objects, such as walking apostles, allegorical figures looking in a mirror or playing a guitar, moving their heads in unison. Huge crowds form in front of the clock, as they wait and fight for the best spot to capture the 40-second procession of the saints on the ancient clock which has been ticking for more than 600 years.

About 50 meters from the clock, another part of the town hall tells a darker tale, as it was brutally bombed and destroyed by the Nazis during World War II. Despite their alliances with Czechoslovakia, the United Kingdom and France demanded Czechoslovakia hand over some of its territories to Nazi Germany, in return for their peace agreement with Germany. The Czechs gave up two days after the bombing of the eastern part of the town hall. Although many called for resistance, then-president Edvard Benes chose to surrender in the hopeless war against the Nazis.

Because of the swift concession, the country was able to save most of its iconic architecture unlike Poland and other countries bordering Germany. Today, Prague is dubbed the most beautiful city in the world. Over 22 million tourists (doubling Korea’s annual tourist target of 10 million) annually visit a city of just 10 million people. Any decision by leaders and politicians carries heavy weight as the outcome leaves a historic and lasting mark and legacy.

The ruling front of the Korean political stage is struggling with the demands from the innovation committee chief Ihn Yo-han, who is asking that the core followers of President Yoon Suk Yeol and leaders of the People Power Party (PPP) give up their vested powers so that the governing party has a chance in the parliamentary election next April. Yoon’s confidantes like Rep. Chang Je-won cannot easily concede. No parties in the United States or Japan, where I worked as a correspondent, demand party members change their constituencies or run in tough electoral districts with low chances of winning. They cannot understand the gain from the so-called sacrifice.

But in Korea, politics is outdated, the system unsophisticated, and voters peculiar. Campaign strategy cannot be easy. To innovate itself, the PPP must come up with a strong action. Winning one more seat is not the issue. It must reinvent itself to have a chance. Complaining about the poor treatment of those who had contributed to making a political rookie the president won’t help.

But it is not just the key aides or party head Kim Gi-hyeon who should swallow their pride. President Yoon must make the first move. Former PPP leader Lee Jun-seok, a 30-something political maverick, is poised to launch a separate party next month. But the president has so far made no move to engage or contain Lee. People close to the president claim that Yoon has no intention to make the move for rapprochement with the former party leader. It could be a matter of pride.

But could the minority party really ensure a victory in the parliamentary election with Lee on the loose? The 20-percent support rate for Lee and his new party could be inflated, but then again it may not be. If the support for Lee has grounds, the PPP is bound to lose. Many male voters in their 20s and 30s are rooting for Lee. The popularity of Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon among women and the middle aged can hardly offset the loss from Lee’s absence.

Lee has laid out his demands — reversal of the government’s plan to relocate the statue of heroic independence fighter Hong Beom-do out of the Military Academy, restoration of the honor of former Marine Colonel Park Jung-hun, and a sit-down with the families who lost their children in the Itaewon crowd crush — in return for his withdrawal of the plan to launch a new political party. His demands are humble enough. The president could invite the young politician to his office or residence to prove the young man wrong by showing that the president can yield, too.

Going back to the Czech president who swallowed his pride to save further losses for his country, Benes later looked down with satisfaction at his city that survived the war and said, “Isn’t this a beautiful sight? This is all thanks to my judgment.” The presidential aides and the president may also say the same thing after the election if they concede, just a little.