Still obsessed with opposition for opposition’s sake

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Still obsessed with opposition for opposition’s sake

Published: 28 Nov. 2024, 19:23

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

Majority opposition Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung, who was just relieved from one out of multiple ongoing legal cases after the first trial on Monday acquitted him of the charge on the subornation of perjury, said his troubles were a “pebble in the sea” compared to the pains and struggles people were enduring.

It is true that the livelihoods of everyday people are woeful. Lee has been hyping public wellbeing as his utmost locus of concern. His favorite quote is that nothing can be more important than bread-and-butter issues.

But it is questionable whether his party shares his sympathetic rhetoric, given the DP’s lawmaking. The party is not like any opposition in the past that collided with the government or ruling party for opposition’s sake due to their lack of seats. With dominant seats, the DP can easily make laws to better livelihoods and economy if it has the will.

Let’s take two recent examples. One is the Special Chip Act motioned by the governing People Power Party (PPP). The bill is in limbo because the DP is vehemently opposed to the provision of exempting the statutory 52-hour workweek for workers involved in chip research and development (R&D). The party refuses any compromise to the signature workweek system mandated when it was the ruling power. The DP argues that the industry can make extra time based on special overwork or flexible or selective working hour clauses of the Labor Standards Act.

But its casual suggestion stems from ignorance to the chipmaking field. The project of advancing a microchip demands super-concentration for six to 12 months. Engineers must work 24/7 if problems arise in the development and trial stages. Taiwan’s top foundry TSMC runs its R&D staff around the clock on three shifts. However, the DP’s option of selective working hours can be used only up to three months — and the flexible working hours require a prior agreement with the union. Special overtime allowed for a maximum six months demands an approval from the labor minister. The options are rarely used due to the layers of terms attached. Of some 40,000 R&D staff on Samsung Electronics’ payroll, only 1,700, or 4 percent, made use of the special overtime clause.

Korea’s chipmaking supremacy has been shaken because of its waning R&D edge. The strict work hours can be blamed as the primary cause. It acts as a gigantic nail constraint. While competitors in Taiwan, the United States and China spend day and night to hone competitiveness, Korea’s R&D workers must shut their lab down and go home when their hours are up. Chipmakers wail that they are at a life-and-death point. They cannot be expected to survive the watershed moment when their simple request to give them more time to work is turned down.

The other is a bill amending the Grain Management Act the DP unilaterally rushed through in a standing committee meeting around midnight of Nov. 21. The Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister Song Mi-ryung contended that the amendment — which requires the government to buy excess rice from farmers when output exceeds a certain point compared to the previous year — can ruin the country’s farming future. President Yoon Suk Yeol already vetoed the bill once. The DP in the second attempt added another clause demanding the government compensate farmers if rice prices fall below average.

If the bill is enacted, farmers need not worry about excess output or falling price. It may seem to help farmers, but it can do the opposite in the longer run. Why would they farm other grains when rice is a sure bet with the government covering for any losses? Rice is already oversupplied. This year alone, 56,000 tons have been harvested beyond demand. The government already spends 500 billion won ($359 million) to 1 trillion won a year to purchase rice from farmers. If the law goes into effect, the rice glut will deepen and its price will tumble further. The amendment will bind farmers to rice paddies and have taxpayers provide for them.

Lee may speak empathetically, but his party acts fecklessly. Lee has often been questioned for his genuineness. It could be his biggest weakness in his bid for presidency. He suddenly championed pension reform before the last 21st National Assembly closed, but has made no mention of it since the new Assembly went to work in June. If Lee is true to his words about caring for public wellbeing and economy, he must prove it. He must have the DP cooperate with the Chip Act and withdraw the amendment on the Grain Act.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.