Democratic Party of Korea nominee stresses unity, pragmatism, growth
Rep. Lee Jae-myung, former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, emphasized integration and pragmatism in his acceptance speech after winning the party's presidential nomination Sunday.
South Korea's early presidential election will be held June 3.
While former President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial finally ended with the unanimous ruling to remove him on April 3, people were seriously divided into impeachment supporters and opponents. National unity has become indispensable. But coming together will be impossible if the next leader turns a deaf ear to criticism and conducts politics only for the sake of his support base. Lee should keep this in mind.
Lee also stressed pragmatism. He said that any thought or ideology cannot stop the changing times.
During the party's presidential nomination race, he prioritized growth over redistribution and pragmatism over ideology. He argued that bread-and-butter economics are most important.
He did not push his social welfare notion based on universal basic income. He has been seen as turning rightward to emphasizing growth and pragmatism. This shift from center-left to center-right goals appears to be an election strategy to attract moderates.
Growth and pragmatism are far from redistribution policies peculiar to a center-left party. They are similar to growth strategies pursued by the conservative ruling People Power Party.
Many voters suspect that though Lee mentions growth at present, he may return to his or his party's redistribution stance if he wins the election. If his policy turns back to the existing Democratic Party platform, the next government will likely resemble the Moon Jae-in administration, which some think implemented ideologically biased policies such as an income-led growth model and nuclear power phase-out.
If Lee wins the election, the Democratic Party, which has a strong majority in the National Assembly with 170 seats, would be the ruling party. Lee would be president, meaning the party leads both the executive and legislative branches. Few institutions could check his power.
With its majority in the Assembly, the party has passed bills through multiple ruling People Power Party boycotts, resulting in presidential vetoes. Not only conservatives, but also some moderates have displayed resistance to the party -- which some view as tyrannical legislators -- coming into power in the executive branch.
Furthermore, the next president could nominate and appoint replacements for two justices on the Constitutional Court whose terms ended April 18. Starting from late December last year, two liberal-leaning justices recommended by the Democratic Party and one conservative-leaning justice recommended by the People Power Party filled vacancies at the court. If the incoming elected president selects two justices to fill the vacancies, the nine-justice bench will be further tilted toward the liberal side.
Some fear excessive concentration of power on that side.
If Lee wins election, pro-labor bills such as the "Yellow Envelope Law" -- which sought to limit employers from filing damage claims against workers during legitimate disputes -- that the opposition passed but Yoon vetoed will be pushed again and go into effect.
Those with a negative sentiment about Democratic Party policies worry such laws could set back the national economy.
Uncertainty over allegations Lee faces in ongoing trials remains. He faces appeals on two acquittals: violating the election law and subornation of perjury. He also faces allegations over a property development scandal, a scheme to use an underwear company to illegally transfer funds to North Korea and his private use of corporate credit cards. Debate is expected to continue as to how his criminal trials will proceed if Lee wins the June 3 election.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that these concerns raise serious questions.
In this context, his emphasis on national unity and pragmatism in his acceptance speech could reassure people to some extent.
But the thing is whether or how much people trust what he says.
There have been instances where what Lee says merely depends on the situation. While emphasizing growth, he recently showed his will to push again an amendment to the Commercial Act to expand company directors' fiduciary duties to include both the company and its shareholders, which some believe will make agile decision-making more difficult. His change of words on whether only semiconductor R&D staff should be exempted from the legally mandated 52-hour workweek to help the chip industry makes some people doubt the sincerity of his pragmatism.
If Lee wants more votes, he should give voters faith that he will stick by his word. Trustworthiness does not come through lip service. He should turn his policy to prioritize growth and pragmatism into irrevocable concrete pledges before being judged by voters.
