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Time for self-reflection and retrospection

Published: 30 Sep. 2024, 19:36

In a Cabinet meeting on Monday, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo recommended President Yoon Suk Yeol to disapprove three bills proposed by the opposition Democratic Party (DP) — including two special motions to investigate the suspicious death of a Marine last year and the alleged corruption of first lady Kim Keon Hee and a bill aimed to hand out universal cash relief to people. If the president vetoes the three bills this time, it will be the 24th since he took office in 2022. We hope the futile cycle of submissions of controversial bills followed by presidential vetoes ends soon.

The previous special motion on the first lady gave the DP the exclusive right to recommend candidates for a special prosecutor and mandated the eldest candidate be automatically appointed a special prosecutor if the president didn’t choose one of them within three days. The motion raised the possibility of a special investigation being exploited for political purposes.

But it’s too late for the government to turn the tide. The government failed to get public trust in its preventive effort, early response, prosecutorial investigation and follow-up measures. If the first lady was really trapped into accepting a luxurious handbag from a suspicious pastor, the presidential office should have told the truth from the beginning instead of keeping mum. The prosecution’s half-baked investigation of the first lady — and its prompt decision to not indict her on bribery charges — only fueled public antipathy towards her.

The presidential office promised to install an office dealing with affairs related to the first lady, but it took no action. The president pledged to appoint a special inspector if the National Assembly recommends one, but no progress has been made yet. The resumption of the first lady’s public activities under such circumstances further worsened the public sentiment against her and the president. Another suspicion has also erupted over the first lady’s alleged intervention in nominating People Power Party members ahead of the April 11 parliamentary election. According to a recent poll, 65 percent want the first lady to be investigated by a special prosecutor. Even in Daegu and North Gyeongsang, the home ground of conservatives, 58 percent supported a special investigation of her.

The president’s approval ratings plunged to 25.8 percent in a recent poll. Opposition parties are joining forces to impeach the president in the wake of the alleged corruption of the first lady. Opposition lawmakers started to participate in outdoor rallies led by progressive groups and even allowed them to stage rallies inside the legislature.

The presidential office must take sincere steps to calm the hostile public sentiment toward the first lady beyond legal boundaries. Above all, the presidential couple must demonstrate their sincere retrospection. Otherwise, the president cannot govern the country effectively.