Time to punish politicians for dereliction of duty

Lee Sang-ryeol
The author is a senior columnist of the JoongAng Ilbo.

A New York Times opinion piece last December raising a dystopian alarm about Korea disappearing from the global map from its ultra-low birthrate hovering below 0.7 — which could have direr consequences on depopulation than what the Black Death had delivered to Europe in the 14th century — touched a nerve for many South Koreans. The most frightening thought was the possibility of another invasion from North Korea, whose fertility rate is being sustained at 1.8, “if its southern neighbor struggles to keep a capable army in the field.” As of 2022, the south’s military force was manned at around 500,000, less than half of 1.28 million in the north. In 2014, South Korea had more than 630,000 soldiers.

A population decrease is unavoidable. Korea may be able to compensate for labor force shortages by immigrants. But the question is the capacity to hold up its defense line. The military pledge to keep combat capacity through the sophistication of weapons and equipment. But at the end of the day, a war depends on combat soldiers. Despite all the glitzes of drones and unmanned weaponries powered by artificial intelligence, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars are punctuated by the role of soldiers in determining the outcome of battlefields.

One of the most distinct characteristics of Korean politics is political circles’ tendency to be engrossed in political battles without paying heed to the imminent dangers. It is how the country ended up pleading for an international bailout in the late 1990s. Politicians from both sides of the aisle deferred the passage of a bill to reform the country’s opaque financial system despite the ebbing international capital so as not to lose votes in the presidential election held later in 1997.

It is why the bold platforms of the fledgling New Reform Party led by 30-something Lee Jun-seok appear rather refreshing. The party straightforwardly tackles the army of “gray rhinos” in our society. A platform proposes the mandatory completion of military service for both men and women to be eligible for the uniformed services of police, firefighting, and prison guard. Despite the controversy, the hot potato requires immediate attention against the backdrop of our shrinking military force. “Our new party may lose votes, but we must start discussions for the future,” Lee said. He is right.

The first agenda of the new party lays out the conditions for the candidates for CEOs of public broadcasters KBS and MBC, including the provision mandating minimum 10 years of experience in broadcasting for their eligibility. People can differ in perceiving bias in TV or radio programs. But the tradition of seating an ally to the sitting power as heads of nationwide broadcasters after a change in the ruling power every five years must end. Public broadcasting must not serve as a trophy for the governing power upon winning the election. The parachute appointments lead to distrust in the broadcaster and spike an inner feud among staffers. Viewers should not be forced to endure the dreary reruns of such practices.

The reform party also plans to motion special bills banning the accompaniment of corporate leaders to political events and even setting legal definition of the role and duties of the spouse of the president. If these platforms see the daylight, much of daily stress for the public could be alleviated.

The People Power Party’s floor leader Yun Jae-ok, center, and other lawmakers of the governing party are urging the majority Democratic Party (DP) to waiver the implementation of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act for another two years to help small companies hiring less than 50 workers to prepare for the rigid safety regulations specified in the act. But after the DP refused, the act went into force from Jan. 27 at all worksites across the country. [JEON MIN-GYU]

The mainstream politics have shown the limits in their service through the failure to reach a bipartisan agreement to defer the enforcement of the Serious Accident Punishment Act on small workplaces employing fewer than 50. In fact, Korea’s small companies need to have greater awareness and take actions on safety. Of 644 deaths in industrial sites in 2022, 60.2 percent, or 388 workers, lost their lives in workplaces employing fewer than 50. But the law can work only when it can be kept. The law now affects 830,000 companies with more than 8 million hires. A survey on them showed that 94 percent are not prepared yet to comply with the new safety regulations. Any fatal accident could send the owner to the prison. A small workplace certainly cannot run normally without its owner.

The law aims to protect workers. But it can end up killing businesses and jobs. The government and the ruling party are liable for dilly-dallying on helping small employers to adjust themselves to the new law during the grace period. The main opposition party holding the supermajority in the legislature also has done nothing except for its knee-jerk opposition to the extension of the grace period. A worker can lose his or her job on their negligence of duty. The same must apply to politicians. Thankfully, the election is arriving in April. It’s payback time.