Don’t ignore cruel judgment in election

The April 10 parliamentary election is less than 100 days away. In his New Year’s speech on Monday, President Yoon Suk Yeol said he will pay more attention to people’s livelihoods to listen to minor voices from them. The governing People Power Party (PPP)’s interim leader, Han Dong-hoon, vowed to draw up policies for “fellow citizens” without any political calculation. The majority Democratic Party (DP)’s leader, Lee Jae-myung, joined the chorus by saying, “Politics is only for the people.”

What really matters is whether politicians can put their words into action. But the results of a recent poll sound loud alarms. People urged both parties to reflect deeply on what they did. In the joint survey by the JoongAng Ilbo and Gallup Korea, 53 percent wanted the opposition to check the government, while 39 percent supported the government. But at the same time, 39 percent backed the PPP, whereas 34 percent cheered for the DP. That strange mismatch means that though the general public wanted the DP to check the government, they did not like the party, either.

When asked if either the PPP or the DP could become a majority, 51 percent and 45 percent, respectively, didn’t want either of the two to become a majority. In a shocking development, 18 percent would vote for a third party. In another joint poll, 22 percent said the two parties should be punished in the upcoming election, suggesting a serious level of public disappointment at the two major parties.

Such resentment resulted from the two parties’ fierce political battles at the cost of people’s livelihoods. They turned away from the politics of harmony and coexistence. Buoyed by its majority status, the DP was engrossed in nonsensical legislation and impeachment of whomever it didn’t like. The party even railroaded a motion to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the first lady’s alleged stock price manipulation. All the noise over nominating candidates for the April election only fuels internal friction in the DP. Up to 50 percent demanded the DP leader resign and launch an emergency committee to win the election.

The government and the PPP are no exception. The vertical relationship between the PPP and the presidential office only consolidated the arrogant administration of the country and helped put government policies off track over and over. That led to the president’s pitifully low approval rating at less than 40 percent.

In the third year of his presidency, Yoon and the PPP must present a clear plan to run the government effectively, and the DP must cooperate with the government while keeping checks on it. The voters will deliver a cruel verdict to both parties soon.